Japan enacted the Act on the Promotion of Research and Development and Utilisation of AI-Related Technologies in May 2025; most provisions entered into force on 4 June 2025, with the AI Strategy Headquarters and AI Basic Plan chapters effective from September 2025.
–The Act takes an innovation-first, principles-based approach: it establishes national AI governance objectives and creates coordination structures, but imposes no direct penalties on businesses.
–Private sector obligations are framed as non-binding duties of cooperation.
–Enforcement relies on existing sector-specific laws and a 'name and shame' mechanism for significant non-compliance. The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC) are joint lead authorities.
Key Sources
AI Promotion Act — Cabinet Office overview (English PDF)View ↗
AI Basic Plan — provisional English translation (December 2025)View ↗
AI Guidelines for Business v1.1 (METI/MIC, March 2025)View ↗
AI Promotion Act — English text (CSET Georgetown)View ↗
Council of Europe Framework Convention on AI (CETS 225)View ↗
This content is for informational and educational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice.