{"slug": "japan-confronts-the-dark-side-of-its-teenagers-ai-addiction", "title": "Japan confronts the dark side of its teenagers’ AI addiction", "summary": "An assault case involving five Japanese girls who used AI to decide how much money to demand from a victim has exposed a disturbing pattern of adolescents turning to AI for guidance in criminal acts. A second case involving a baseball team manager's arrest for assaulting his daughter has further focused Japan's attention on AI's social impact.", "body_md": "Advertisement\n\n# Japan confronts the dark side of its teenagers’ AI addiction\n\nAn assault case involving five Japanese girls has cast a spotlight on the consequences of AI misuse\n\n4-MIN READ4-MIN\n\nShe was among five girls in\n\n[Japan](https://www.scmp.com/topics/japan?module=inline&pgtype=article)believed to have beaten a boy so severely that he required hospital treatment. Yet her most pressing concern was how much money the group should demand from him. To find an answer, she turned to[artificial intelligence](https://www.scmp.com/topics/artificial-intelligence?module=inline&pgtype=article).The alleged assault took place in January in Hachioji, a city in western Greater Tokyo.\n\nFor experts, the case has exposed a disturbing pattern: Japanese adolescents instinctively turning to AI to guide their actions, including criminal ones, rather than exercising their own judgment or restraint.\n\nAdvertisement\n\nPolice said the boy, a high-school student, suffered serious injuries, with five girls accused of carrying out the attack.\n\nBut it took a second, higher-profile case of alleged violence, this time involving a sporting celebrity, to focus Japan’s attention on AI’s far-reaching social impact.\n\nShinnosuke Abe, 47, manager of the storied Yomiuri Giants baseball team, was arrested at his Tokyo home on May 25 on suspicion of assaulting his 18-year-old daughter. The team announced his resignation\n\n[the following day](https://www.scmp.com/sport/other-sport/article/3354830/top-japan-baseball-boss-arrested-over-alleged-assault-teen-daughter?module=inline&pgtype=article).Advertisement\n\nSelect Voice\n\nSelect Speed\n\n1.00x", "url": "https://wpnews.pro/news/japan-confronts-the-dark-side-of-its-teenagers-ai-addiction", "canonical_source": "https://www.scmp.com/week-asia/lifestyle-culture/article/3357713/japan-confronts-dark-side-its-teenagers-ai-addiction?utm_source=rss_feed", "published_at": "2026-06-21 00:00:11+00:00", "updated_at": "2026-06-21 00:12:10.698603+00:00", "lang": "en", "topics": ["ai-ethics", "ai-safety", "ai-policy"], "entities": ["Japan", "Yomiuri Giants", "Shinnosuke Abe", "Hachioji", "Greater Tokyo"], "alternates": {"html": "https://wpnews.pro/news/japan-confronts-the-dark-side-of-its-teenagers-ai-addiction", "markdown": "https://wpnews.pro/news/japan-confronts-the-dark-side-of-its-teenagers-ai-addiction.md", "text": "https://wpnews.pro/news/japan-confronts-the-dark-side-of-its-teenagers-ai-addiction.txt", "jsonld": "https://wpnews.pro/news/japan-confronts-the-dark-side-of-its-teenagers-ai-addiction.jsonld"}}