Japan PM meets with Altman, Softbank CEO — Plans to increase AI cooperation with Trump

Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba met with Sam Altman of OpenAI and Masayoshi Son of Softbank in Tokyo on Monday, and discussed artificial intelligence (AI) investment. Ishiba has said he wants to increase “cooperation in the field of AI” and will discuss the matter with US President Donald Trump at a summit meeting on February 7, with a joint statement expected to be forthcoming.

The move to deepen relations is ostensibly part of a plan to keep pace with China — a commonly cited Western boogeyman — and prevent the massive state’s undue dominance in the field.

Trump, for his part, surprised many of his fiscally conservative supporters after taking office, by announcing a $500 billion joint venture into AI known as “Stargate.” The investment involves both Softbank Group (SBG) and OpenAI, as well as an entity known as Oracle. Ishiba is now doubling down on this trans-Pacific handshake, and plans to meet with Trump on the 7th to further cement the development.

Ishiba moves to back US in joint AI development

The Japanese PM met with Masayoshi Son, CEO of Japan’s investment and communications giant Softbank, as well as OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in Tokyo Monday, and “exchanged views on AI investment in the United States,” according to regional media. “We want Japan and the United States to deepen cooperation in the field of AI and strive to make the world more peaceful, prosperous, and safe,” Ishiba is quoted as saying.

While some die-hard Trump supporters are now confused as to how dumping billions into a global AI database called Stargate (and spending even more money on the Biden-era initiative) is going to help “make America great,” Japanese are also doubting their own ruler’s intentions when it comes to the tech.

As previously reported here on Cryptopolitan, the Japanese government has openly stated its intentions to govern and surveil the populace with massive AI infrastructure, while everyday residents of the archipelago find themselves in financial straits. In response to the February 3 meeting involving Ishiba and OpenAI, one user of X said: “If you’re going to spend that much money, make an AI made in Japan instead.” This sentiment is not rare.

Like the Japanese AI governance initiative, Stargate is also tied to digital health records, and also potential mRNA injection initiatives with a stated goal of fighting cancer. Japan’s “My Number” digital health surveillance and catch-all identification system is similarly controversial with Japanese, as some fear My Number will centralize state control and make private information insecure.