Economic Diplomacy

April 24, 2026
Japanese

AI is a foundational technology for economic and social development, and competition among nations in this field is intensifying as it now directly influences national power.
Japan is engaged in cooperation with like-minded countries and those from the Global South to co-create “safe, secure, and trustworthy AI” governance and ecosystem, in order to appropriately address associated risks including those related to information security, while fostering innovation by promoting the global expansion of Japan’s AI business.

1. Establishing International Governance for AI

(1) Hiroshima AI Process

The Hiroshima AI Process was launched in May 2023, following the Leaders’ direction at the G7 Hiroshima Summit under Japan’s presidency, to consider international governance of generative AI. In the G7 Leaders’ Statement issued in December of the same year, the “Hiroshima AI Process Comprehensive Policy Framework” was developed with the “Hiroshima Process International Guiding Principle for All AI Actors” and the “Hiroshima Process International Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing Advanced AI Systems” as major components.

Furthermore, in May 2024, the “Hiroshima AI Process Friends Group”—a voluntary framework of countries and regions that endorse the spirit of the process—was launched under Japan’s leadership. The implementation of the Hiroshima AI Process’s international guidelines and code of conduct is expanding beyond the G7 to include countries and regions across the Global South.

(2) AI Summit

Given the rapid development of AI, the United Kingdom hosted the AI Safety Summit in Bletchley in November 2023 to discuss the safe development and use of AI technology. This was followed by the AI Seoul Summit co-hosted by Republic of Korea and the UK in Seoul in May 2024, the AI Action Summit co-hosted by France and India in Paris, in February 2025, and the AI Impact Summit hosted by India in Delhi, in February 2026. Japan has actively participated in these AI summits with the aim of contributing to discussions on the establishment of international AI governance.

(3) United Nations

Japan is actively participating in discussions on international AI governance within the United Nations, in coordination with relevant countries. Japan will continue to contribute to these discussions with the aim of realizing “safe, secure, and trustworthy AI”.

(4) OECD

Japan is also actively participating in discussions on international AI governance within the OECD, including the OECD AI Principles adopted and published by the OECD Council in 2019. Furthermore, Japan is engaged in activities such as co-hosting “co-creation workshops” between the OECD and Southeast Asian countries regarding the “AI Policy Toolkit,” which the OECD is developing to support AI policy formulation based on the OECD AI Principles for emerging and developing economies.

2. Co-Creation of “Safe, Secure, and Trustworthy AI” Ecosystem

Japan aims to co-create a "safe, secure, and trustworthy AI" ecosystem tailored to the needs of countries in the Global South, including by leveraging Japan's AI technologies and solutions to address social challenges, and fostering capacity building and human resource development in partnership with like-minded countries.

  • Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative (PDF) Open a New Window
    “Japan-India AI Cooperation Initiative” was launched during Indian Prime Minister Modi’s visit to Japan in August 2025. It aims to realize innovation and growth in both countries through the co-creation of solutions to economic and social challenges utilizing AI, as well as through enhancing autonomy and competitiveness in the AI field.
    • 18th Japan-India Foreign Minister’s Strategic Dialogue
      “Japan–India AI Strategic Dialogue” under the “Japan–India AI Cooperation Initiative (JAI) was launched to promote concrete cooperation in the field of AI during the Japan-India Foreign Minister’s Strategic Dialogue held on January 16, 2026. Two countries will identify existing initiatives and future priority areas to translate them into concrete actions through regular sessions of this dialogue, which will involve broad participation from relevant ministries and agencies in both countries.
  • Japan-ASEAN Co-Creation Initiative for AI (PDF) Open a New Window
    The "Japan-ASEAN AI Co-creation Initiative" was launched at the 28th Japan-ASEAN Summit held on October 26, 2025. Japan aims to build a "safe, secure, and trustworthy AI” ecosystem together with ASEAN member states.
  • Japan-France Joint Statement on Cooperation in the field of AI
    In April 2026, during President Macron’s visit to Japan, Japan and France issued a Joint Statement on Cooperation in the field of AI, centered on three pillars: AI safety, AI for security, and AI for Good (capacity building in third countries). The two leaders concurred to establish a high-level dialogue on AI to deepen concrete cooperation.
  • Japan-Central Asia AI Cooperation Partnership (PDF) Open a New Window
    "Japan-Central Asia AI Cooperation Partnership” was launched at the "Central Asia plus Japan" (CA+JAD) Summit held on December 20, 2025.
  • Promotion of Human Resource Development and Improvement of AI Governance in Africa (PDF) Open a New Window
    Japan announced its efforts regarding human resource development (PDF) Open a New Window and AI governance improvement at the 9th Tokyo International Conference on African Development (TICAD 9) held in August 2025.
  • AI×Trust Program (Visit Program to Japan for AI Policy Officials from the Global South)
    The Ministry of Foreign Affairs invited AI policy makers from Brazil, Cambodia, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Thailand, and Vietnam, from March 14 to March 20,2026.
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