MiniMax schedules a Tokyo conference on Japanese IP and generative AI
The September 11 event frames cooperation around models, infrastructure and intellectual property, with compensation and rights protection on the agenda.
By RuntimeWire Staff · Published
Primary source: MiniMax
Why it matters
MiniMax reported that 73% of its 2025 revenue came from outside mainland China. The Tokyo conference tests whether the company can turn interest in H3 into local relationships built around compensation, rights protection and the global commercialization of Japanese IP.
MiniMax, the generative AI company founded by Yan Junjie, will sponsor a September 11 conference in Tokyo focused on how Japanese intellectual property can be used, protected and commercialized in generative AI. The program gives MiniMax's H3 model a keynote slot while putting compensation for rights holders near the center of the discussion.
Yan is MiniMax's founder, chairman, CEO and CTO. He previously spent more than six years at SenseTime, where he became a vice president and deputy head of its research institute. He studied mathematics at Southeast University, earned a doctorate in artificial intelligence from the Chinese Academy of Sciences and completed postdoctoral research at Tsinghua University. The Tokyo conference addresses the commercial work required to turn the models built under Yan into an international business.
The registration post points to the Japan IP.AI Co-Creation Conference, scheduled from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m. at the NEXYZ Square Building in Shibuya. Its theme is "Japanese IP, Ready for the Global AI Era," and the promotional material describes cooperation across models, infrastructure and intellectual property.
The official conference program lists an H3 keynote at 2:20 p.m. It does not describe the gathering as H3's official Japan launch or advertise a separate H3 demonstration.
H3 gets a Tokyo keynote after its August release
MiniMax released H3 in August, ahead of the September 11 conference. MiniMax describes H3 as a general-purpose model that can process context spanning text, images, video and audio, then generate video with native stereo audio.
MiniMax's open-source announcement says H3 supports clips from four to 15 seconds, output up to 2K and dialogue in 11 languages, including Japanese. Those capabilities make the model relevant to animation, games, film and character-based media, where source images, footage, voices and other protected material can be central inputs.
The conference places those technical capabilities alongside questions about permission and payment. Japan's media industries control valuable characters, stories and visual material, all governed by ownership agreements and usage restrictions. The event program focuses on compensation, rights protection and bringing Japanese intellectual property into global AI products.
Compensation and rights protection lead the agenda
The conference program opens with a keynote titled "Fair Use to Fair Pay." Later sessions address the value of Japanese IP, building AI with Japanese culture and expanding Japanese intellectual property through global AI services.
MiniMax President of Global Business Linda Sheng and Japan business head Akira Takeuchi are listed for the H3 keynote. MiniMax marketing executive Leanna Ren is scheduled for a panel that includes representatives from video and design AI companies Runway, Higgsfield AI and Krea. The program also names entertainment producer Yasushi Akimoto and KADOKAWA editor and producer Motoi Chujo.
KAGAMIAI Holdings is identified as the conference operator. Separately, KAGAMIAI describes its Kagami Gate product as infrastructure for licensing management, real-time tracking of IP use, rights protection and revenue distribution. The conference materials do not establish that H3 will use Kagami Gate or that MiniMax has entered a licensing agreement with KAGAMIAI.
The official page announces discussions and scheduled appearances, with no signed licensing transactions disclosed. That distinction matters for rights holders assessing whether the event produces enforceable terms for model training, generation and commercial distribution.
Japan adds a rights-heavy test for MiniMax's international business
According to MiniMax's 2025 annual results, MiniMax generated $79 million in revenue, up 158.9% from the previous year. Revenue from outside mainland China accounted for 73% of the total.
The filing reported a net loss of approximately $1.87 billion for the year. MiniMax said fair-value accounting for financial liabilities, including liabilities associated with preferred shares issued before its public listing, contributed substantially to that figure.
Those results give MiniMax a clear reason to cultivate customers and commercial partners outside its home market. Open model releases can attract developers across borders quickly. Media adoption usually requires local negotiations over ownership, permitted uses, attribution and payment.
The September 11 conference gives MiniMax a venue to present H3 within that discussion. Its commercial value will depend on what follows: licensing terms, products that can track authorized use and contracts with the companies and creators controlling Japanese intellectual property.