Akira Yoshida, a contemporary artist living in Tokyo, was asked to create an object to be displayed in a restaurant in a complex developed by a major real estate company. The design of the cat was suddenly changed to a black one without permission.
Mr. Yoshida protested against the company that owns the object, saying, "Changing the appearance without the permission of the author is an infringement of copyright" The company admitted that it had taken a lack of consideration for the artist and apologized.