Major Japanese broadcaster Fuji TV plans to use generative AI in all its live-action series by the end of 2027, establishes dedicated “AI testing site”

Japanese television station Fuji TV announced on November 5 that it has founded a dedicated “AI Center” within its new Digital Strategy Headquarters. Consequently, AI Sandbox, an AI testing site focused on advancing generative AI technology in the production of live-action dramas, was established at Fuji TV’s Wangan Studio.  

According to Fuji TV’s official website, this comes in light of shifting conditions of the filming environment, as well as the “need to fully realize the worldview and directorial vision of each project.” Through AI Sandbox, directors, producers and other technical staff will be able to collaborate with external AI producers, explore different production possibilities that utilize generative AI, and determine whether the technology is a right fit for their project, the company explained.

Utilizing AI Sandbox since September this year, Fuji TV found that in certain segments of the video production process that uses generative AI, workload could be reduced by up to 70-80% compared to traditional methods. Note that this figure only refers to specific segments of video production and does not represent a total reduction in workload or production budget.

Apparently, Fuji TV has actively been implementing generative AI in several of its live-action series, including the most recent season of its long-running medical drama Emergency Room 24Hours. AI is used in the pre-production phase to visualize the director’s idea of how the filmed footage should look like, as well as the image processing in the medical scenes and the depictions of accident scenes. As an example, Fuji TV lists a scene from the first episode of the series, featuring an AI-generated explosion over an AI-generated aerial view of a fictional cityscape.

Starting this October, FujiTV will produce at least one live-action drama per season as an “AI-enhanced” project, with production being carried out through AI Sandbox. By October 2027, the television station will aim to establish a system that will allow it to use generative AI in all of its running series, depending on the productional demands of each project.

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