December 12, 2025
Tokyo – The government plans to double the number of employees at government agencies responsible for verifying the safety of artificial intelligence technology in its draft Artificial Intelligence Basic Plan.
The plan is scheduled to be approved by the Cabinet later this month, and is the first time the government has put together a plan of this type.
To support the development of AI, the government is also aiming to ease regulations regarding personal information protection. According to the draft, the government aims to balance technological innovation and risk management and make Japan the country with the best environment in the world for the development and use of AI.
The basic plan establishes the direction of the government's future AI policy based on the Act on Promotion of Research, Development and Utilization of AI-related Technologies, which was enacted in May. The draft was submitted to a meeting held by the Liberal Democratic Party's Digital Society Promotion Headquarters on Wednesday.
The draft law expresses concerns that Japan is lagging behind other countries in developing and investing in AI, which has a direct impact on Japan's industrial competitiveness and national security. The draft states that “disparities are becoming more pronounced year by year.''
The draft stipulates that the government will “actively work to eliminate the gap” by leveraging Japan's strength in possessing high-quality data. We have set four principles as key to this goal. Promoting the use of AI. Improving development capabilities. Better governance. And change society.
In order to promote the introduction of AI in ministries and agencies, employees in management positions are required to actively utilize AI and set an example. The government will also provide subsidies for small and medium-sized enterprises to introduce AI. The government has announced in its draft plan that it will promptly submit to the Diet a bill to revise the Personal Information Protection Law that will support AI model learning, which is essential for technological development. The government plans to allow the collection of information without the consent of the person for the purpose of creating statistical data.
However, the draft law also notes the risks of AI, including criminal misuse and the spread of misinformation and disinformation. The draft states that “it is important to dispel the concerns of the public.'' The number of employees at the AI Safety Research Institute, a government-affiliated agency to be established in 2024, should be expanded “immediately” to approximately 30 people, roughly double the current number. The company plans to work on developing a system to evaluate the safety of AI.
At a meeting of the expert committee regarding the draft, some voices called on the government to set numerical targets for indicators such as the rate of AI usage among the public and the amount of investment in the technology by the public and private sectors. However, the government rejected this idea and concluded that it was too early to do this.
