Japan ranks third in global visits to sexually explicit deepfake websites

A survey by The Yomiuri Shimbun shows Japan ranks third globally in visits to sexually explicit deepfake websites, with over 18 million visits in a year. The United States and India lead in traffic to these sites. The survey identified 41 websites that allow users to create fake sexual images. Most visitors from Japan, about 410,000 monthly, primarily use smartphones. The majority of these sites launched in 2024, coinciding with a rise in deepfake content. Experts are concerned about the impact of deepfakes and are calling for new laws and better information literacy in Japan. In 2023, 95,820 deepfake videos were detected online, with 98% being sexually explicit.