Fuji TV will widen its use of generative AI in drama production, the network said in a statement on its official site on the 5th, after setting up a testing ground for the technology at its Wangan Studio and beginning operations there in September.
The network is already using the technology in several dramas, including "Kyumei Byoto 24-ji" ("Emergency Room 24 Hours"), which airs Mondays at 9 p.m. this season.
Fuji TV makes 16 prime-time serial dramas a year. Generative AI joins live-action shooting, VFX and CG as a production method for realizing a work's world and the director's intent, the network said.
Scripts and the intended look of a scene are now shared from the preparation stage, and the method is chosen to suit the work or the scene. Fuji TV says the aim is a wider range of expression, lighter workloads on set and improved safety.
What AI did on 'Kyumei Byoto 24-ji'
On "Kyumei Byoto 24-ji", directors used generative AI to visualize the images they had in mind before shooting, so production and technical staff could share a picture of the finished scene.
The tool was used for detailed image processing in medical scenes and for accident sites that are hard to reproduce with live shooting alone. In some parts of the footage-making process, the network says, working hours fell by up to 70 to 80% compared with conventional methods.
An 'AI-enhanced' slot every season
From the October 2026 season, at least one drama each season will be designated an "AI-enhanced slot." By around October 2027, Fuji TV aims to have a system in place that lets every drama it produces use AI according to the work and the scene.
The network plans to extend the effort to group companies. By fiscal 2029, it aims for Fuji Media Holdings as a whole to hold AI capabilities at the level of a leading domestic vendor.
The statement gives no figures on how the shift will affect staffing on drama crews or on writing staff, and no industry-wide rules on generative AI in drama production are cited.