52-year-old heartthrob Takeshi Kaneshiro has largely faded from the entertainment industry in recent years. Last year, he only took on a Muji endorsement for the Chinese market, shooting a series of promotional photos and commercials. After that, there were no further updates, leaving fans quite concerned about his current status.
Recently, some fans discovered Kaneshiro's likeness appearing in a real estate developer's advertisement. They thought he might have returned to work, but his management denied it, saying that the developer used AI-generated images, which have absolutely nothing to do with Kaneshiro himself. The agency strongly condemned the developer's behavior as outright fraud!
On the 24th, a netizen posted on Threads, sharing two screenshots and curiously asking: "Did Takeshi Kaneshiro shoot a commercial? I was just scrolling through Facebook and suddenly saw this photo, thinking I hadn't seen Kaneshiro in a long time! Surprised and happy, but then realized it's a real estate ad! Is this even possible?" In the screenshots posted by the user, a man who looks extremely similar to Takeshi Kaneshiro is walking down the street with a young boy. The background is an alley in Taipei's Shilin District. The image doesn't look very realistic and is full of AI vibes.
Takeshi Kaneshiro's management company responded to the issue: "This advertisement has absolutely nothing to do with Takeshi Kaneshiro." The company stated that whether or not the images look like Kaneshiro is subjective. However, if industry players or real estate agencies use this kind of borderline approach for marketing, they believe it is unacceptable and carries ethical flaws. It's basically using AI to scam people. They hope regulatory authorities can consider relevant legislation to establish protection mechanisms and regulations.