Japan's digital minister warns country risks becoming an 'AI colony' if it fails to keep pace with AI development

Digital Minister Hisashi Matsumoto warned on Friday that Japan could fall prey to a new form of colonialism in the AI era if it fails to keep pace with the technology's development.

The government is defending a bill to amend Japan's personal data protection law to allow AI developers to train models with data such as medical and criminal records without individuals' consent. The bill passed the Lower House last week and is now being debated in the Upper House.

Japan is supporting domestic AI development through subsidies, targeted procurement, and legal changes, while also courting investment and technology access from U.S. companies such as Microsoft and OpenAI, and backing domestic players including SoftBank, Sakura Internet, and chipmakers.