Japan’s Artificial Intelligence Strategy The challenge for AI collaboration across the Trilateral Security Dialogue (TSD)

The Australia-United Kingdom-United States AUKUS) agreement on strategic technology sharing has triggered a broader discussion on the necessity and ability for like-minded states to engage in deeper trade, military, intelligence, and information sharing for national growth and development, and also regional security. This report, like others in this series, highlights the Trilateral Security Dialogue (TSD) as an important platform to enable this agenda. Japan’s technological capabilities, strategic alignment, regional security concerns, and shared values make it a natural partner for Australia and the US in defence technology, particularly in the field of AI. There is also strong enthusiasm within the Japanese government and broader AI expert community to move beyond current project based defence cooperation agreements to bridging priority capability development with collaborative partnerships. Recent AI strategy documents highlight an encouraging alignment in this regard. In this report, the authors highlight the potential for AI defence cooperation with Japan and the role the Defence Trade Cooperation Treaties (DTCT) can play in improving AI collaboration, particularly in dual-use domains. It brings to the fore the influence of uniquely Japanese cultural elements on civil-military cooperation and the need for cybersecurity assurances following recent high profile cyber intrusions within the Japanese Ministry of Defense. The benefits of sandboxing exercises that consider Japan’s particular regulatory landscape are also discussed, along with the importance of establishing focal points in each country to navigate government bureaucracy. The report also emphasises the importance of interaction between governments and public service, industry, and academia from Australia, Japan, and the US, discussing the potential benefits of such interaction, including overcoming linguistic issues in AI and harmonising ethical frameworks and terminology.