Japan Pursues AI Diplomacy, Technology Sovereignty With Global South

As the United States and China dominate global AI technology, Japan's government and technology industry are making “AI sovereignty” central to their diplomacy and international expansion. The strategy aims to help countries including France, India and Brazil build autonomous systems that reflect local languages and cultures, drawing on Japan's experience developing large language models for languages other than English. The goal is to prevent them from becoming “digital colonies” of U.S. and Chinese technology giants while creating a third path for technological cooperation.

According to a TechNews report on July 10, 2026, Japan has established strategic AI dialogues with countries including France, India, Brazil, Malaysia and the United Kingdom. Leading Japanese companies such as SoftBank have begun building data centers in France, while startup Sakana AI is actively participating in cross-border technology partnerships. The Japanese government has also proposed a public-private investment road map calling for more than 370 trillion yen in cumulative spending on AI, semiconductors and other strategic sectors by 2041.