PURSUING THE 100,000-QUBITQUANTUM COMPUTER
THROUGH JAPAN - U.S. COLLABORATION

Hoping to accelerate research into quantum technology, which has potential applications in fields as diverse as drug
discovery and cryptography and is also crucial for economic security, the governments of Japan and the UnitedStates have agreed to strengthen cooperation in education. Industry and academia in both countries arecollaborating to pioneer quantum-centric supercomputing.
Quantum technology, which utilizes the quantum
nature of substances and energy at the subatomic
level, is attracting worldwide attention. As countries
race to develop quantum supercomputers withenormous processing power and applications invarious fields such as quantum cryptography toensure more secure communications, Japan and theUnited States are strengthening their cooperation todevelop quantum technology.
In May 2023, on the occasion of the G7 Hiroshima
Summit, IBM, the University of Tokyo, and theUniversity of Chicago agreed to enter a partnership tobuild a cooperative relationship in quantum research.
IBM will provide 100 million dollars over the next
decade to advance technological innovation toward
the development of a 100,000-qubit quantumcentric supercomputer.
While classical computers, in common use today,process information as binary digits (bits) in one of two
states—0 or 1—quantum computers use quantum bits(qubits), which can be not only in the two “basis states”
representing 0 and 1 but also in their superposition thatis neither 0 nor 1. It is an entirely new technology thatcan perform complex calculations by taking advantageof the properties of superposition. The realizationof a 100,000-qubit quantum-centric supercomputer
could lead to solutions to pressing problems that eventhe most advanced supercomputers of today may
never be able to solve.
The University of Tokyo has already beencollaborating with IBM on quantum research forsome time. The two parties signed the Japan-IBM
Q uantum Partnership in 2019 and established theQ uantum Innovation Initiative Consortium thefollowing year, involving a wide range of partnerships
from industry and academia. This led to the launch in2021 of Japan’s first gate-based commercial quantum
The University of Tokyo partnered with IBM in 2019, leading
to the launch two years later of the gate-based commercial
quantum computer known as IBM Quantum System One. IBMcomputer, IBM Quantum System One. Then, in thefall of 2023, the quantum computer, equipped withthe 127-qubit Eagle processor, began operation.
Owning the exclusive rights to use the processor,
the University of Tokyo has been leading the field ofquantum research in Japan by promoting research onits use collaboratively with participating companies
and research institutions.
“Now that quantum computers are here andcan actually be used, researchers and students havebecome more inclined to develop ever more useful
applications for them. In that sense, I believe that ourpartnership has had a significant impact on quantum
research in Japan,” says MURAO Mio, a professor
specializing in quantum information theory at theUniversity of Tokyo.
According to Professor Murao, the strength of
the university’s quantum research lies in its breadthof fields and wide-ranging perspectives. “We havean advantage in this kind of unique research. For
example, Professor NAKAMURA Yasunobu createdthe basic element of superconducting quantum
computers, and Professor FURUSAWA Akira
achieved impressive results in the development of the
optical quantum computer.”
Meanwhile, the University of Chicago is home tothe Pritzker School of Molecular Engineering, thefirst educational institution in the United States tooffer a doctoral program in quantum engineering.
It has been involved in research in a variety of fields,from quantum algorithms to quantum cryptography
communications. Talking about the partnership,
David Awschalom, Liew Family Professor ofMolecular Engineering at the University of Chicago,
makes these comments: “Collaboration—acrossborders, fields, and sectors—is critical to fully

Top: Professor MURAO Mio (left) of theUniversity of Tokyo’s Graduate School ofScience, and Associate Professor TERASHI
Koji of the International Center for
Elementary Particle Physics from the same
university. Right: Professor David Awschalomof the Pritzker School of MolecularEngineering, University of Chicago.

realizing the transformative potential of quantum
computers. I believe that some of the most seismic
impacts of at-scale quantum computing are yetto be discovered.” He adds, “We’ve already held
joint workshops, identified powerful new areas forcollaboration, and are launching graduate student
exchange programs between Tokyo and Chicago.”
Also, TERASHI Koji, associate professor at theUniversity of Tokyo, states, “We aim to openlyinnovate while complementing each other’s
technologies. We hope that this experience ofpersonnel exchange with the University of Chicago
will lead to the development of the next generationof researchers.”
However, creating a supercomputer with 100,000
qubits is by no means an easy task. There are manydifficulties to overcome, such as maintaining quantum
superposition and correcting errors caused by noise.
“I think it’s important at this stage to researchalgorithms that will prove useful and beneficial forthe future, for when we will have realized quantum
computers that are able to maintain proper operationin the event of errors,” explains Terashi.
Q uantum computers, which until recently were
only a theoretical concept, are now becoming areality. That is why universities and companies acrossJapan and the U.S. are complementing each other andcompeting to usher in a new paradigm of quantum
computing.