Act on Promotion of Research and Development, and Utilization of Artificial Intelligence-related Technology

Summary

Framework law for promoting the research, development and utilization of AI-related technology. Its basic principles require transparency in research, development and utilization, since wrongful or inappropriate use can abet crime, leaks of personal information and copyright infringement, and seek a leading role in international cooperation. The State is to analyse cases in which such use infringed citizens' rights and interests and accordingly give guidance, advice and information to R&D institutions, utilization business operators and others; set guidelines in line with international norms; and adopt an AI Basic Plan. It creates the AI Strategic Headquarters, headed by the Prime Minister.

Language

English translation by Ministry of Justice of Japan (Japanese Law Translation) Open it. The Japanese text is authoritative.

Safety topics

Status notes

Enacted 28 May 2025 and promulgated as Act No. 53 of 4 Jun 2025. Under Supplementary Provisions Article 1 it took effect on promulgation, except Chapters III and IV (AI Basic Plan and AI Strategic Headquarters), which took effect on 1 Sept 2025; Supplementary Provisions Article 2 requires the government to review the Act's enforcement. Article 7 obliges utilization business operators to cooperate with the measures of the State and local governments (協力しなければならない), while R&D institutions and citizens are to endeavour to cooperate (Articles 6 and 8); the Cabinet Office's provisional English overview renders the business duty as 'shall endeavor to cooperate'. The Act contains no penalty provisions. Both Houses attached supplementary resolutions. The AI Basic Plan (Dec 2025; second plan Jul 2026) and the Article 13 appropriateness guideline (Dec 2025) were adopted under it, and the second AI Basic Plan commits to continuously reviewing the Act.

Sources

Open the official source https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_housei.nsf/html/housei/21720250604053.htm

Secondary source: https://laws.e-gov.go.jp/law/507AC0000000053

Local copy

Verification

History

1. 2026-10-16official_url: https://www8.cao.go.jp/cstp/ai/ai_act/ai_act.html → https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_housei.nsf/html/housei/21720250604053.ht — the Act's own text as promulgated, on the House of Representatives' site (plain HTML, stored in this run); the Cabinet Office page described the Act but did not contain it2026-10-16-refresh-ids-us-04-us-ca-05-us-tx-01-ca-0 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
2. 2026-10-14related: [{"slug": "jp-ai-basic-plan", "id": "JP-06"}, {"slug": "jp-ai-appropriateness-gu → [{"slug": "jp-ai-basic-plan", "id": "JP-06"}, {"slug": "jp-ai-appropriateness-gu — two-way link to JP-17 added in run 2026-10-14-discover-leads-2026-10-142026-10-14-discover-leads-2026-10-14 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
3. 2026-10-14english_version: – → {"kind": "government translation", "url": "https://www.japaneselawtranslation.go — Ministry of Justice translation now stored (Japanese Law Translation page).2026-10-14-refresh-translation-fixes · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
4. 2026-10-14notes: Enacted 28 May 2025, promulgated and partly in force 4 Jun 2025, fully in force → Enacted 28 May 2025 and promulgated as Act No. 53 of 4 Jun 2025. Under Supplemen — Commencement under Supplementary Provisions Arts 1 and 2; Art. 7 (must cooperate) against Arts 6 and 8 (endeavour) and the English overview's wording; no penalty provisions in the Act's text.2026-10-14-refresh-translation-fixes · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
5. 2026-10-14summary: Japan's first AI-specific law, a framework law to promote AI innovation while re → Framework law for promoting the research, development and utilization of AI-rela — Rewritten from the Act's text: Art. 3(4) (transparency, with the harms named), Art. 3(5), Art. 13, Art. 16 (analysis of cases infringing citizens' rights and interests; guidance, advice and information to R&D institutions, utilization business operators and others), Art. 18, Arts 19 and 22. The duty to cooperate moved to notes with the articles.2026-10-14-refresh-translation-fixes · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
6. 2026-10-14title: Act on Promotion of Research and Development, and Utilization of AI-related Tech → Act on Promotion of Research and Development, and Utilization of Artificial Inte — Now the Ministry of Justice's Japanese Law Translation title, which renders 人工知能 as 'Artificial Intelligence'; the earlier title was the Cabinet Office's provisional overview translation.2026-10-14-refresh-translation-fixes · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)
7. 2026-10-14language: Japanese (provisional English overview available) → Japanese — The translation check found the official text in this language only; the English texts are translations (recorded in english_version where stored).manual-2026-10-14 · Claude Code (claude-opus-5-5)

Related records

Japan AI Basic Plan Japan · Published (non-binding, current)

AI Act Appropriateness Guideline (AI指針) Japan · Published (non-binding, current)

Japan AISI Japan · Published (non-binding, current)

AI Institutional Study Group Interim Report (2025) Japan · Published (non-binding, current)

Citation

National Diet of Japan (lead: Cabinet Office). Act on Promotion of Research and Development, and Utilization of Artificial Intelligence-related Technology [Act No. 53 of 2025]. 2025-06-04. https://www.shugiin.go.jp/internet/itdb_housei.nsf/html/housei/21720250604053.htm. Status: In force; verified 2026-10-16 (level A). Local copy archive/JP-04/2026-10-16/official.html retrieved 2026-10-16 16:38:52 UTC, SHA-256 cd22f0534af71e7fdf8001fa6df205a7ddec2a4ad6ee27415618dd185934f640. Every AI Policy Ever, version 1.18 (snapshot 2026-10-18), record JP-04.

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