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Published: 14:24, September 03, 2021
Japan's new digital chief in copyright gaffe
By Reuters
Published:14:24, September 03, 2021 By Reuters

Japan's Digital Transformation Minister Takuya Hirai, right, and newly appointed chief digital officer Yoko Ishikura pose for a photo during a ceremony to launch Digital Agency in Tokyo, Japan, Sept 1, 2021. (PHOTO / KYODO NEWS VIA AP)

TOKYO - The chief of Japan's Digital Agency, which launched this week to propel creaking government infrastructure into an online future, apologized on Friday after posting an image in breach of copyright rules.

Yoko Ishikura, an academic and consultant picked as chief digital officer at the new agency, last week wrote a blog post on her personal website commenting on the disruption caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Yoko Ishikura, the chief of Japan's Digital Agency, apologized after using an image with a "Pixta" watermark in her blog post last week

The post was headed by a low-resolution image with a "Pixta" watermark. The use of this image and others breaches Pixta's terms of service, Ryo Ito, an executive at the stock image provider, wrote on Twitter on Friday.

ALSO READ: Suga says to compile basic policy on new digital agency by 2020

"Please contact me so I can provide guidance on appropriate use of images and confirm details including whether you have provided proper payment," Ito wrote in a reply to Ishikura's tweet about her blog post.

"This is entirely due to my carelessness. I apologize," Ishikura said in a follow-up tweet deleting the earlier post.

When the Digital Agency was launched on Wednesday, it reported some users were having trouble connecting to its website.

The agency is aimed at overhauling the government's outdated bureaucracy, which has been blamed for delays to the payment of pandemic subsidies and hampering the shift to remote work.

Its creation is a key policy of embattled Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga.

Copyright rules are widely ignored on social media, with users frequently sharing images without permission or attribution.

"There is still not the necessary understanding about appropriate use of images," Ito said in a tweet.

READ MORE: Twitter removes image tweet by Trump over NYT copyright complaint


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