Japanese wholesaler Nippan confirms book sales to Anthropic, deepening publisher concerns over AI training
Nippan Group Holdings has told the Japan Book Publishers Association that a subsidiary sold books to Anthropic from December 2024 to December 2025 but was not aware the purchases were for AI training, according to Jiji Press and Kyodo News.
Major Japanese book wholesaler Nippan Group Holdings has confirmed that it sold books to US artificial intelligence company Anthropic, people familiar with the matter said on Wednesday, October 7, according to a Jiji Press report carried by The Japan Times.
In a letter to the Japan Book Publishers Association, Nippan Group said that Nippan IPS, a subsidiary that sells Japanese books overseas, concluded a deal with Anthropic in November 2024 and sold books to it between December 2024 and December 2025. Nippan IPS asked about the purpose of the purchases before striking the deal, the letter said, but the unit had not been aware that they were for AI training. Nippan Group did not disclose how many books were sold or the total amount, and plans to answer inquiries from publishers. The association shared the letter with some 380 member publishers.
An internal Anthropic document disclosed in a US lawsuit showed that the company entered into a deal with “Nippan Japan” as part of its Project Panama, which aims to scan books from all over the world.
According to Kyodo News, the association sought clarification in a letter dated September 17, after court filings in a US copyright lawsuit revealed Anthropic’s talks with “Nippan Japan.” It asked whether the books sold included titles from its member companies and how the wholesaler viewed selling large quantities of books to overseas customers without publishers’ permission. Concerns are growing in the Japanese publishing industry that the books may have been destroyed after having their spines cut to enable scanning. “It would be regrettable if the company had sold books knowing they would be used to train AI,” an industry source told Kyodo, stressing that permission from authors and publishers must be obtained before books are supplied for such purposes.
Nikkei Asia reported that the purchases, while likely legal, have reignited a debate on how authors’ rights should be protected when their work is used to train AI.
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