Newsletter No. 004|February 29, 2024

Publishing of a working draft of a"Basic Law for Promoting
Responsible AI" submitted to a
project team of the Liberal
Democratic Party of Japan

Atsumi & Sakai
Policy Research InstituteIn January 2023, the Liberal Democratic Party of Japan launched a project team("AIPT”) on the evolution and implementation of AI, led by Masaki Taira, a memberof the House of Representatives, to consider Japan's AI strategy and policy
recommendations. Based on these considerations, AIPT member’s a private proposal
for new legal governance in our country, specifically targeting particularly powerfulgenerative AIs (called "frontier AI models"). has been submitted to AIPT andpublished as the "Basic Law for Promoting Responsible AI” 1 . The Draft AI bill will
regulate developers of foundation AI models of a certain scale and purpose.
The Draft AI bill aims to balance risks and benefits brought about by AI through theintroduction of appropriate AI governance. Specifically, it seeks to restrict risks ofinfringement on the rights and interests of citizens, while maximizing the benefits ofhealthy AI development, including AI‐driven innovation. This is to be achieved bypublic‐private joint regulation against developers of specific foundation AI on sharingof risk information, establishment of a governance‐system, disclosure, and so on.
The bill specifically targets so‐called "specific AI foundational models" withsignificant social impact, known as frontier AI models. It does not intend to include
small‐scale models or startups. The discussion points include the necessity andacceptability of regulating the developers of foundational models, how to evaluate
and classify based on "scale" and "purpose" (e.g., number of parameters, training data,
whether the model is for general purposes, etc.). In addition, whether Japanese
government regulates by designating unilaterally or requiring prior notification,
sanctions for non‐compliant developers, and the geographical scope of application
are important continuous discussion points.
Companies developing specific AI foundational models are required to establish
seven measures, including third‐party vulnerability verification and disclosure of themodel's basic specifications, which align with commitments made voluntarily to theU.S. government by major AI companies last year.

1 https://note.com/masanao_ozaki/n/nbd4dd013a5cb

https://note.com/api/v2/attachments/download/85055711b2ebdae1585d4e7345ac5a70

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These seven measures are:

1. Conduct safety verification (e.g., red team testing) by the company andexternally for AI in particularly high‐risk areas.
2. Share risk information between companies and the government.
3. Invest in cybersecurity to protect unpublished weights.
4. Detection and reporting of vulnerabilities by third parties.
5. Implementing mechanisms to notify users of the use of generative AI.
6. Disclosure of AI's capabilities and limitations.
7. Promotion of research on the social risks of AI.

However, specific standards for these measures (e.g., scale and frequency of red teamtests, level of cybersecurity, etc.) are expected to be determined by the private sector,
including business associations, to keep up with the speed of technologicaladvancement. This regulatory system, where the government defines what to do andthe private sector determines how to do it, is generally known as a "co‐regulation"model.
Developers of specific AI foundational models are required to regularly report to thegovernment (or the newly established AI Safety Institute by IPA2) on their compliancewith these measures. The government will review these reports and, if necessary,
make them public or provide guidance and supervision. Violations of reporting
obligations or orders may result in fines or criminal penalties. Unlike European AI
regulations, this bill does not envisage immediately banning or imposing regulations
on specific AI foundational models or services based on their content.

2 https://aisi.go.jp/2

In relation to topics on AI regulations and guidelines, Japan's Ministry of Internal
Affairs and Communications (MIC) and Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry(METI) have published draft unified government guidelines based on discussions atthe Hiroshima AI process in January 20243. These guidelines, which call for voluntary
efforts, are not limited in applicability, in contrast to the AI bill. The guidelines
maintain the current concepts of the OECD AI principles and the Japanese Principle ofHuman‐Centric AI. The guidelines are unique in that they add new requirements tothe advanced AI model (the requirements are basically in line with the Hiroshima AIprocess), adjust the description of the MIC's AI development and utilization principles
in light of the progress of generative AI, and require agile governance with regard tothe use of such conventional principles. Agile governance is the concept that calls forcontinuous improvement based on assessment of technical and social changes.
In line with concept of agile governance, the Japanese government and Japanesepoliticians are trying to develop appropriate national regulations and internal
systems at companies in response to changes in technological and social risks, andchanges in international trends through the consideration of new legislation andguidelines, without establishing overly strict ex ante regulations.
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3 https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/000923717.pdf

https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_sosiki/kenkyu/ai_network/02ryutsu20_04000019.html

3Authors/Contacts
Tatsuhiro Hirayama

Takafumi Ochiai

Atsumi & Sakai

Atsumi & Sakai

Policy Research InstituteHead of Policy Research InstituteE: takafumi.ochiai@aplaw.jp

Principal Researcher
E: tatsuhiro.hirayama@aplaw.jp

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