Japanese Policy on AI
June 2024
Shoji Watanabe
Cabinet Office, Japan

Compiled from materials by the Cabinet Office

Japanese Policy

Previous Basic Strategies “AI Strategy 2022”, “Principles for a Human-Centered AI Society”
Changes in technologies such as generative AI

International Discussions

Natural dialogue is possible, elaborate image generation is easy, etc.

Common vision and goals agreed at G7 Hiroshima Summit 2023
is "Trustworthy AI”.

！Great benefits and innovation, contribution to Society 5.0！On the other hand, risks related to AI are more imminent

G7 leaders agreed on the comprehensive policy framework
including international guiding principles. (Hiroshima AI Process)

AI Strategy Council (experts) , AI Strategy Team, AI International Strategy Promotion Team (relevant ministries)

Tentative Discussion Points on AI" (May 26, 2023, compiled by AI Strategy Council)
Basic Approach(1) Leading role in international rule making, (2) Response to the risk and use of AI,(3) Prompt and flexible response involving diverse stakeholders
Response to Risks

Optimal use of AI

Strengthening AI R&D capabilities

・Responding to concerns and risks related to generated AI⁃ Handling at central ministries (Digital Agency), reminders fromthe Personal Information Protection Commission (PPC),
guidelines for educational institutions (MEXT), discussions on AIand copyright (MEXT), and study on AI and intellectual property(Secretariat for Intellectual Property Strategy Promotion)⁃ Guidelines by MOC & METI, consideration on necessary action(Cabinet Office), AI Safety Institute⁃ R&D on countermeasure technology, etc.

・Data connection
infrastructure, etc. (DA, etc.)

・Securing computational resources(METI), developing training data (MIC),
support for model development(METI), fundamental research (MEXT)・Pilot use in government (DA,etc.)
・Skills and literacy education
for a wide range ofgenerations (MIC, MEXT)

・Environment attracting talent (MEXT)
・Promotion of startup (METI, MEXT,etc.)

Cooperation among ministries collaborating with AI Strategy Council, AI Strategy Team, and AI International Strategy Promotion TeamAI-related budget

Compiled from materials by the Cabinet Office

Budget for FY2024 is about 0.8 billion dollar.
Supplemental budget (FY2023-2024) is about 2.1 billion dollars.
Responding to Risk

Strengthening AI development capabilities

4.5 million dollars [6.6 million dollar]• Contribution to G7, Hiroshima AI Process,OECD, GPAI…
• Research on countermeasures againstdisinformation• Literacy education

0.25 billion dollar [1.6 billion dollar]• Securing computational resources• Expansion of data centers• R&D on energy effective GPU• Improvement of training data
• Supporting AI model development• Enhancement of basic research• Attractive R&D environment for researchers

Promotion of AI Use
0.23 billion dollar [0.42 billion dollar]• Deployment in critical fields such as
healthcare, infrastructure, education, andgovernment, etc.
• Support for introduction of AI by small andmedium-sized enterprises• Support for human resource development(reskilling, AI literacy)• In addition to the above, a portion of thegrants to each national R&D agency will be
used for AI research and development.
Notation :amount of draft budget for FY2024 [amount of supplemental budget]3

Further Discussion (Requirement for AI Actors)

Image

Japan is basically using guidelines (soft-law), which are flexible and useful for rapidly changingtechnologies.
EU and US are considering to use both soft-law (guideline, standard) and hard-law (law, regulation).

High risk, influential

Low risk, non-influential

Reliable response to the risks

AI developer

U.S. Reporting obligation by AI developersof large-scale dual use models
EULaw and regulations
Third party certification

Compliance with specificindustry regulations, etc.
AI supplier, user

High-risk equipment, machinery, etc.

Response to the risks
Disclosure of compliance with rules, etc.

Response to the risks
Development and publication of
AI governance policy, etc.

Procurement and use of appropriate AI by the government
Survey and information sharing on risks

Online Platformer

Response to inappropriate contents
i.e. Digital Service Act (EU)4Structure of RuleImage

AI developer, supplier, user
Developer of Advanced AI

Soft-law
Guidelines, Standards（Self-regulation）

USJapanVoluntary Commitment

Guidelines

ISO/IEC
CEN/CENELEC

for AI
Laws/regulations

USDefense Production Act

AI andnon-AIJapan
Draft law proposedby ruling party

EUAI Act

Laws/regulations
by sectore.g.
Law for automobile safety (autonomous driving),
law for medical devices (programmed devices)

Laws/regulations

e.g.
Criminal law, security law, copyright law,personal information protection law, provider liability law, etc.
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G7 Leaders’ Statement on Hiroshima AI Process (December 2023)

Ⅰ Hiroshima AI Process Comprehensive Policy Framework(1) OECD’s Report towards a G7 Common Understanding on Generative AI(2) Hiroshima Process International Guiding Principles for All AI actors(3) Hiroshima Process Code of Conduct for Organizations Developing
Advanced AI Systems(4) Project-based cooperation on AI

Ⅱ Work Plan to advance Hiroshima AI Process- expand outreach to partner governments- develop proposal to introduce monitoring tools and mechanisms- launch a dedicated web site for the Hiroshima AI Process- dialogue with the multi-stakeholder community- continuously working together under Italian Presidency
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Hiroshima Process
International Guiding Principles for All AI actors (items only)

Ⅰ. measures throughout the development of advanced AI systems, including prior to theirdeployment.

Ⅱ. identify and mitigate vulnerabilities, incidents and patterns of misuse, after deployment.
Ⅲ. publicly report advanced AI systems’ capabilities, etc. to ensure transparency.

Ⅳ. information sharing and reporting of incidents.
Ⅴ. develop, implement and disclose AI governance and risk management policies.

Ⅵ. security controls, including physical security, cybersecurity and insider threat safeguards.
Ⅶ. content authentication and provenance mechanisms to enable users to identify AIgenerated content.
Ⅷ. research to mitigate societal, safety and security risks and prioritize investment ineffective mitigation measures.
Ⅸ. development of advanced AI systems to address the global problems.
Ⅹ. development and adoption of international technical standards.
Ⅺ. appropriate data input measures and protections for personal data & intellectual property.
Ⅻ. trustworthy and responsible use of advanced AI systems

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Japan’s effort in AI governance (Background) Initiated AI discussion in the international fora since 2016*. Developed three AI guidelines** since 2017.
 In the international fora: PM Kishida announced to establish ‘Hiroshima AI Process’. MIC leaded discussion topublish deliverables (‘Hiroshima AI Process Comprehensive Policy Framework’) On the domestic level: METI and MIC published a draft of ‘AI Guidelines for Business’ targeting at all AI-related
stakeholders, compiling and updating three existing guidelines.
*G7 ICT Ministers’ Meeting in Takamatsu, Kagawa**AI R&D Guidelines for International Discussions (2017, Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication), AI Utilization Guidelines (2019, Ministry ofInternal Affairs and Communication) and Governance Guidelines for Implementation of AI Principles (2022, Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)

International Approach

METI related Items

G7 Hiroshima Summit (May)-> Hiroshima AI Process
Hiroshima AI Process Ministers’ Meeting (September)-> Publication of interim reports

G7 ICT Ministers’ Meeting in Takamatsu,Kagawa (2016)

G7 Digital & Tech Ministers Meeting (December)
G7 Leaders’ Video Conference (December)

AI R&D Guidelines forInternational Discussions (2017)
Public Consultation(from January)

Principles of Human-centric
AI society (2019, Cabinet Office)Draft of AI Guidelines
for Business (December)

AI Utilization Guidelines(2019)
Governance Guidelines for
Implementation of AI Principles(2022)

Domestic Approach

Update as living docume

AI Guidelines for Business(March)

Tentative Summary ofIssues around AI(May, AI Strategy Council)

2023

2024

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Japanese AI Guidelines for Business

COMMON TO ALLAI BUSINESS ACTORSMain BodyPart 1Definitions

As commentary to the concise main body, appendix
contains;

Part 2Society to aim for with AI and what each
AI business actor works on


A. Basic philosophy
B. Principles
C. Common guiding principles
D. Guiding principles Common to AI Business actors
involved in advanced AI systems
E. Establishing AI governancePart 3SPECIFIC TO EACHAI BUSINESS ACTOR

Appendix

Matters related to AI DevelopersPart 4

Matters related to AI Providers
Part 5Pre-processing of data and training
During AI development
After AI development
Items for advanced AI developers

AI system implementation
After provision of AI systems and services
Items for advanced AI providers

Matters related to AI Business Users

Use of AI systems and services
Items for advanced AI business users

Examples of AI systems and services
Patterns and examples of AI business actors and their relations
Practical items to build AI governance within each business actor
and their concrete examples
Explanation about each item of main body, examples of concretemeasures and other references
Check list *Existing efforts by AI related actors are also collected in multistakeholder consultation and are described in columns

Excerpt from Appendix(D-5) i. Introduction of mechanisms for security measures: Throughout the process ofdeveloping AI systems, take appropriate security measures in light of the characteristics of thetechnology to be employed (security by design) ("5) Ensuring Security")[Points] It is expected to pay attention to the security of AI and take reasonable measures to ensure theconfidentiality, integrity, and availability of AI systems, in light of the technical level at that time. In addition,measures to be taken in case of a security breach are expected to be organized in advance, taking into
account the purpose and characteristics of the AI in question, and the magnitude of the impact of the breach.
Security by design" defined by the Cabinet Cyber Security Center (NISC) in the "Direction to incorporate
information security from the planning and design phase" should be considered from the early stage of thedevelopment process to ensure the security of the system to be developed. Security is to be secured byconsidering security from the early stages of the development process. Adding security functions after thefact or implementing security tools just before shipment, as in the past, may cause frequent rework andresult in high development costs. Implementing security measures at an early stage of development reduces
rework and costs and leads to the creation and provision of systems and software with good
maintainability.……
[Concrete measures]
 Security by design• Threat Assessment: ……
• Software Bill of Materials: ……
• ……
[Other references] NCSC, “Guidelines for secure AI system development” (November, 2023)
 NIST, “CYBERSECURITY FRAMEWORK” (April, 2018)
 ISO/IEC27000 Series
 NIST, SP800 Series ……

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AI Safety InstituteJapanese AI Safety Institute was established at IPA(Information-technology Promotion Agency) in cooperation
with related ministries and national laboratories.

Current tasks are study on AI safety issue (AI safetyevaluation, disinformation, etc.), preparation ofstandards, consideration on evaluation method, andinternational collaboration with UK and US AISI, etc.

Executive Director

Akiko Murakami
Executive Officer, Chief
Digital Officer, Sompo
Japan Insurance, Inc.
Former researcher of
IBM Japan.

Relevant ministries :Cabinet Office (Secretariat for Science, Technology and Innovation)
Cabinet Cyber Security Center
Digital Agency
Ministry of Foreign Affairs
Culture, Sports, Science and Technology
Trade and Industry

National Security Bureau
National Police Agency
Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications
Ministry of Education
Ministry of Economy
Ministry of Defense

Related organizations :National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT)RIKEN
National Institute of Informatics
National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST)

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