Japan's AI Push Gains Momentum as Tokyo Becomes Strategic Co-Development Hub
In an ambitious bid to lead the next era of AI, Japan is spearheading one of the world's most comprehensive regulatory and innovation agendas. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is steering the country's AI push with a government that treats it as a national priority requiring structured oversight and rapid adoption.
The efforts are gaining momentum, with major companies such as Daikin, Toyota Connected, and Rakuten adopting ChatGPT to speed up data analysis, automate workflows, and build custom assistants tailored to Japan's business culture. Claude, meanwhile, is now fully localized for Japanese users, featuring adjustments for cultural nuance, linguistic complexity, and local compliance rules.
These corporate moves align with a government pushing the technology as a catalyst for economic revival, estimating that it could raise Japan's GDP by up to 16 percent. In May, Japan passed the AI Promotion Act—a law that frames the technology as a national priority requiring structured oversight and rapid adoption. At the center of the effort is the AI Strategic Headquarters, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The country has also deepened its technology ties with India, agreeing at the G20 Summit to broaden cooperation on AI, critical tech, digital public infrastructure, semiconductors, and cybersecurity.
Japanese language models are now challenging Western counterparts like GPT-5 and Claude 3.5, with NTT Inc.'s Tsuzumi 2 being a prominent example. The model is far more efficient than its Western counterparts, operating on a single GPU rather than dozens, and performing on par with—sometimes better than—models several times its size.
The next bottleneck for global AI growth is raw computing power, which Japan believes can be addressed by merging quantum computing with AI. NTT Inc., together with OptQC, is developing optical quantum systems that operate at room temperature, thereby avoiding the massive cooling systems required by traditional quantum machines. This hardware aims to replace electrons with light, dramatically improving speed and energy efficiency.
In the near term, AI will continue to advance faster than quantum computing, but over the next five to ten years, their relationship is expected to flip, with quantum becoming a force multiplier for AI—and AI helping accelerate quantum hardware design in return.
In an ambitious bid to lead the next era of AI, Japan is spearheading one of the world's most comprehensive regulatory and innovation agendas. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is steering the country's AI push with a government that treats it as a national priority requiring structured oversight and rapid adoption.
The efforts are gaining momentum, with major companies such as Daikin, Toyota Connected, and Rakuten adopting ChatGPT to speed up data analysis, automate workflows, and build custom assistants tailored to Japan's business culture. Claude, meanwhile, is now fully localized for Japanese users, featuring adjustments for cultural nuance, linguistic complexity, and local compliance rules.
These corporate moves align with a government pushing the technology as a catalyst for economic revival, estimating that it could raise Japan's GDP by up to 16 percent. In May, Japan passed the AI Promotion Act—a law that frames the technology as a national priority requiring structured oversight and rapid adoption. At the center of the effort is the AI Strategic Headquarters, led by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
The country has also deepened its technology ties with India, agreeing at the G20 Summit to broaden cooperation on AI, critical tech, digital public infrastructure, semiconductors, and cybersecurity.
Japanese language models are now challenging Western counterparts like GPT-5 and Claude 3.5, with NTT Inc.'s Tsuzumi 2 being a prominent example. The model is far more efficient than its Western counterparts, operating on a single GPU rather than dozens, and performing on par with—sometimes better than—models several times its size.
The next bottleneck for global AI growth is raw computing power, which Japan believes can be addressed by merging quantum computing with AI. NTT Inc., together with OptQC, is developing optical quantum systems that operate at room temperature, thereby avoiding the massive cooling systems required by traditional quantum machines. This hardware aims to replace electrons with light, dramatically improving speed and energy efficiency.
In the near term, AI will continue to advance faster than quantum computing, but over the next five to ten years, their relationship is expected to flip, with quantum becoming a force multiplier for AI—and AI helping accelerate quantum hardware design in return.