[Breaking] Japan's First "Basic AI Plan" Decided: Government Presents Improvement of "Human Power" for Coexistence with AI. Outline of the Basic Plan, from Countermeasures Against Fake Information to Return of Copyright Compensation

December 19, 2025, marks an important day for considering the future of AI in Japan. This is Mina Azure, in charge of research at AiCuty. A crucial piece of news has arrived, serving as a "guidepost" for us creators and everyone walking alongside AI. On December 19, 2025, the government's Artificial Intelligence Strategy Headquarters compiled Japan's first "Basic AI Plan (Draft)." The subtitle is "'Japan's Revival' with 'Trustworthy AI'." Aiming to be the world's easiest country to develop and utilize AI, we will carefully explain how our lives and creative activities will change.

The AI Strategy Headquarters was held, and the "Basic AI Plan (Draft)" was decided. In order to solve various problems such as labor shortage and disaster prevention, it is important to thoroughly utilize AI throughout Japan. I have instructed the relevant cabinet ministers to promote efforts by the public and private sectors to realize Japan's revival with "trustworthy AI" that makes use of our country's high-quality data. pic.twitter.com/b3txIsG3Zw — 首相官邸 (@kantei)

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?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">December 19, 2025

Japan's "Counteroffensive": Leading the World with Trustworthy AI

This basic plan draft sets "promoting innovation" and "responding to risks" as major principles. While there is a sense of crisis that Japan is lagging behind other countries in AI development investment, it aims to launch a "counteroffensive" from here, leveraging Japan's cultivated "reliability," high-quality industrial and medical data, and Japanese culture as strengths.

(Now is the time for a "counteroffensive") The AI competition environment is changing significantly at the moment. More than the scale of investment in AI infrastructure models, the creation of specific added value, starting with industry- and task-specific applications, is being evaluated in the market. Although we have fallen behind in investment scale, Japan, which has an extremely broad industrial base, has a good opportunity to find a winning strategy with "trustworthy AI." Now is the time for society as a whole to thoroughly use "trustworthy AI," rotate the cycle from "utilization" to "development," and use high-quality data in fields where Japan has strengths, such as industry, medicine, and research, as well as the world's leading high-quality communication environment, to achieve AI innovation and launch a "counteroffensive" with the world. AI that solves Japan's problems will also contribute to solving global problems.

https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/ai/ai_plan/aiplan2025_draft5.pdf

① Using AI: The Government Itself Practices "Try Using It First"

To accelerate the utilization of AI, the government is thoroughly introducing generative AI into administrative operations as a "start from the nearest thing." It will create an environment where AI can be actively used to solve social issues such as maintaining local government services, resolving labor shortages, disaster prevention, and medical care.

What is "Start from the nearest thing"? "To accomplish a large project, start from the most accessible point," or "Things should be done first by the person who proposed it." It is an idiom derived from the story of Guo Wei, who, when King Zhao of Yan sought to invite wise men during the Warring States period in China, replied, "If you treat someone like me well first, wise men will think that they will be treated generously and will naturally gather."

② Creating AI: Japan's "Winning Strategy" and Infrastructure Enhancement

Rather than simply borrowing overseas AI, we will promote the development of "reliable infrastructure models" that take into account Japan's unique culture and customs. In addition, we will focus on "Physical AI," which moves robots in the physical world, and AI for scientific research (AI for Science) as Japan's winning strategy, and have also announced a strategic investment of 1 trillion yen.

③ Enhancing the Reliability of AI: Ensuring Governance and Safety

Measures are also included to address "deepfakes" and "false/misinformation," which we are most concerned about.

• Drastic Strengthening of the AI Safety Institute (AISI): Expand the number of personnel to about twice the current number to build a system that can properly evaluate the safety of AI models.

• Guidelines Based on the AI Law: Based on Article 13 of the AI Law, guidelines for proper use that conform to international standards will be developed.

• Countermeasures against False Information: We will support the development of technologies (such as digital watermarks) to identify AI-generated content and create a safe and secure environment.

④ Collaborating with AI: Improving Human Values, "Human Power"

We emphasize education and environmental development to cultivate "human power" (creativity, thinking ability, judgment, etc.) to live with AI, rather than being replaced by AI. In addition, regarding the "protection of intellectual property," which is important for creators, efforts to ensure transparency and promote returns to creators are clearly stated.

Mina Azure's Perspective: Protecting the Future of Creation

What I found particularly encouraging after reading this plan is the attitude of not simply keeping AI risks away, but appropriately "evaluating" them and building "trust" in both technology and systems.

In particular, the fact that they continue to consider measures against copyright infringement and how to return value to content holders is, I feel, an important step in protecting the rights of activities like AiCuty and the creators who work hard on their creations every day.

The goal of being "the world's easiest country to develop and utilize AI" does not only refer to technological competition. I sincerely hope that it will be a warm digital society where creators can challenge new expressions with peace of mind, and where everyone who receives them does not have to be afraid of fakes or abuse.

Furthermore, it can be seen that the fields that AICU has been working on so far, such as AI utilization for people with disabilities at the "Tomoiki Metaverse Workshop," are at the cutting edge.

[Research Note] Design and Evaluation of Generative AI Risk Assessment Methods for Local Governments Supporting Social Participation of Persons with Disabilities / Maiko Nishikawa (Nakamura), Mai Hirokawa, Mio Nishimura, Akihiko Shirai, Digital Hollywood University Bulletin (2025/12, ISSN 2189-7395) https://msl.dhw.ac.jp/wp-content/uploads/2025/12/DHUITNJOURNAL2025_P018.pdf

(Response to Risks) On the other hand, AI has various risks from various perspectives, including not only technical risks such as misjudgments, hallucinations, and output of inappropriate information, but also promotion of discrimination and prejudice, use for crime, excessive dependence, infringement of property rights such as privacy and copyright, increased environmental load, spread of false/misinformation, and expansion to social risks such as employment and economic insecurity, and security risks such as cyberattacks. The fact is that the risks brought about by AI generation are causing anxiety among the public. In order to increase the momentum of "trying to use AI" and realize a virtuous cycle from "utilization" to "development," it is necessary to appropriately grasp the risks that fluctuate with the technological progress of AI in a timely manner, and ensure the appropriateness of AI, including transparency, fairness, and safety, thereby embodying safe, secure, and "trustworthy AI" and dispelling the anxiety felt by the public. (Towards becoming "the world's easiest country to develop and utilize AI") Our country has been pursuing an AI strategy while balancing innovation promotion and risk response. In order to further evolve the AI strategy as the core of "crisis management investment" and "growth investment," we will further strengthen the "balance between innovation promotion and risk response" so that people and AI can constantly collaborate, maintain a human-centered AI society where individual dignity is respected, pursue "trustworthy AI," and realize "the world's easiest country to develop and utilize AI." At this time, it is necessary for the public and private sectors to unite in order to build a new economic development and a safe and secure society based on AI. As a strategy that contributes to the realization of national goals, the "Act on Promotion of Research and Development and Utilization of Artificial Intelligence-Related Technologies" (Act No. 53 of 2025; hereinafter referred to as the "AI Act") Article 18 We will formulate a "Basic Artificial Intelligence Plan" as stipulated in paragraph 1, and the government will steadily promote the contents included in this plan.

From now on, I would like to carefully monitor how the guidelines shown by the government are implemented in practice.

December 19, 2025 Artificial Intelligence Strategy Headquarters | One Day of the Prime Minister | Prime Minister's Office Website Prime Minister Takaichi held the 3rd Artificial Intelligence Strategy Headquarters at the Prime Minister's Office. www.kantei.go.jp

Basic AI Plan (Draft) - Cabinet Office Basic AI Plan (Draft) ~ "Japan's Revival" with "Trustworthy AI" ~

#SocietyandEthics of GenerativeAI #BasicAIPlan #TrustworthyAI #PhysicalAI #CopyrightProtection #AISI #JapanRevival #TomoikiMetaverse