Japan and the United States said Thursday they have agreed to form a $1 billion partnership aimed at advancing emerging technologies using artificial intelligence.
With Japan becoming the first international partner for U.S. President Donald Trump’s “Genesis Mission,” a national effort to unlock scientific discoveries, the two countries will each invest $500 million over five years in the AI-driven initiative.
Under the deal, joint teams of Japanese and U.S. scientists, as well as leading research institutions of the two allies, will be able to collaborate more closely in new frontiers of technology, including quantum computing, fusion energy and autonomous laboratory systems.
The joint projects, also including those related to biotechnology, advanced materials and particle physics, will be led by Japan’s ministries of science and industry and the U.S. Department of Energy.
“This partnership will bring together industry partners, academia and philanthropic organizations from both nations to fundamentally transform research and development practices through advanced artificial intelligence,” Dario Gil, undersecretary for science at the department, said at a press briefing.
Gil, who leads the mission championed by Trump, said the two countries will “cement our status as global leaders in technology, defining 21st century technological leadership. Our cooperation is a powerful testament of what can be achieved when trust meets talent and when vision meets action.”
For Japan, the partnership will enable access to the abundant scientific and technological resources of the United States, including state-of-the-art supercomputers.
Amid an intensifying technological race between the United States and China, Trump launched the national mission in November, aiming to double U.S. scientific productivity in 10 years using AI.
The Trump administration views the mission, spanning 26 “science and technology challenges,” as a national effort similar to the Manhattan Project, which produced the world’s first atomic bombs during World War II, and the Apollo program, which achieved humanity’s first lunar landing.
The 26 challenges range from discovering quantum algorithms with AI and securing U.S. leadership in data centers to unleashing subsurface strategic energy assets and safeguarding nuclear materials from proliferation threats.
Yasuyoshi Kakita, vice minister for policy coordination at Japan’s science and technology ministry, said at the briefing that “the United States is Japan’s ally, and we believe that cooperation with the U.S., which has strong science and technology capabilities, is especially important.”
© KYODO
