Universal Music Japan announced on October 14 that it had removed Ado’s ‘Aishite Aishite Aishite’ music video, after confirming that parts of the visuals were used without permission from the original creators, Sashitama.
The song was composed by Vocaloid producer Kikuo in 2012, and the original visuals were created by video artist Akatamago and illustrator Sashi Miyama in 2015.
Ado and Universal Music Japan released a cover of the song in 2023 with Kikuo’s permission, but they overlooked securing permission for the original video’s visuals. Universal Music Japan admitted it failed to follow proper legal and copyright procedures, even though the cover aimed to pay homage to Sashitama’s work.
“We deeply apologize for causing trouble for Sashitama, all parties involved, and all fans,” Universal Music Japan said.
The company stressed that the responsibility falls entirely on their management team, not on Ado nor the production team.
They also outlined three key preventive measures: reinforcing internal copyright training, strengthening legal review before releases, and establishing clear guidelines for using external creators’ works.
The company did not mention if a new music video of Ado’s cover will be uploaded in the future.
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