Overview
- Japan's cabinet approved the draft second-period AI Basic Plan on Friday, July 10, 2026, declaring 'Japan AX' as a coordinated public–private push to drive AI adoption in government, industry and public services.
- The plan singles out 'vertical AI'—industry- and domain-specific models—and 'physical AI'—AI-powered robotics—as priority areas for concentrated R&D, pilot deployments and mass-production investment.
- Ministers were tasked to produce domain-specific strategies and build a domestic development platform for physical AI, with Minister Akazawa charged to accelerate robot R&D, manufacturing investment and early creation of a global AI-robotics hub.
- Tokyo will carry out a cross-ministerial review of laws and systems, strengthen the AI Safety Institute to allow government evaluation of high-performance models, and formally explore using high-performance AI for cyber defense.
- The plan channels funding through the 'Strong and Wealthy Japan' investment frame, seeks early international coordination for a Japan-hosted AI Summit, and intends to recruit external technical talent to build a government AI promotion capacity comparable to peer countries.