A blog post offering a new interpretation of Ado’s song “Motherland” (マザーランド) has become the center of a copyright dispute after Japan’s music rights body JASRAC demanded its removal over how much of the song’s lyrics were quoted.
The post, published on the blogging platform note by a writer using the handle “Sozo Chizu no Hito” (@koridentetsu), argued that “Motherland” should be read not as a song about an athlete’s personal struggle but as an anti-war anthem about people standing up against an unjust invasion. To support the analysis, the writer quoted portions of the lyrics directly.
On July 8, 2026, the writer said on X that JASRAC had sent a warning accusing the post of copyright infringement and asking for the excerpt to be taken down. The writer said the quotation met the requirements of Article 32 of Japan’s Copyright Act, which permits quotation for purposes such as commentary, and initially refused to comply, calling the warning “truly regrettable.”
The writer later said the quoted lyrics amounted to 67% of the full song, but argued this was not the same as quoting the song in its entirety, and noted that their own commentary was longer than the quoted lyrics, maintaining the post satisfied fair-quotation rules.
On July 9, however, the writer announced a decision to delete the lyric excerpts after concluding the risk of having their entire note account suspended was too high, since the account also hosted unrelated content such as travel diaries. The writer stressed that removing the lyrics “does not mean surrendering to JASRAC’s argument” and said they still considered themselves the wronged party in the dispute.
The case divided opinion online. Some commenters sided with the writer, arguing JASRAC appears to send warnings even in cases where legitimate quotation may apply, and said the organization was effectively restricting commentary through its own internal standards. Others pointed out that Japan’s Copyright Act requires quoted material to stay within a “necessary minimum” and remain clearly subordinate to the surrounding original text, questioning whether transcribing roughly half of a song’s lyrics could meet that bar. The dispute has not gone to court, and observers noted a definitive answer on whether the quotation was lawful may ultimately require a judicial ruling.
Who is Ado?
Ado is a Japanese singer known for concealing her face during performances and public appearances, who rose to fame with her 2020 hit “Usseewa.” She performed the theme songs for the Netflix anime film “One Piece Film: Red,” in which she also voiced the character Uta, and has become one of the best-selling vocalists in contemporary Japanese music. “Motherland” (マザーランド) is one of her released songs.
