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Japan's state-backed Rapidus Corp. has begun adjusting its chipmaking equipment and is expected to start test production of advanced semiconductors by the end of this month. This is a crucial step for Rapidus as it pushes to enter the artificial intelligence (AI) components market. The two-year-old startup aims for mass production of 2nm semiconductors by 2027, aiming to rival Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), a leading semiconductor manufacturer. Image Caption: Image

As generative artificial intelligence (Gen AI) technology becomes a hot topic in the smartphone industry, Counterpoint Research recently conducted a survey of consumers in seven countries. The survey included over 25,000 participants from the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Poland, and Japan. The results showed that only 32% of respondents were familiar with Gen AI, with the highest awareness in the U.S. at 72%. In contrast, Japan had the lowest awareness at only 7%.

The Japanese government recently announced a plan to utilize artificial intelligence technology to combat online manga and animation piracy. According to data from the Tokyo Bureau of Cultural Affairs, there are currently at least 1,000 websites illegally offering free downloads of Japanese manga and animation. These sites are accused of causing losses of billions of dollars to Japan's cultural industry each year. To address this issue, the Japanese government has proposed a pilot program totaling 300 million yen (approximately 2 million USD). This program will implement an image and text detection system, leveraging artificial intelligence technology to surveil the internet.

The Japanese government is vigorously advancing its strategic layout for the chip and artificial intelligence industries. This fiscal year, the government will allocate an additional 1.5 trillion yen (approximately $9.9 billion) in a special budget targeting cutting-edge technology fields such as next-generation chips and quantum computers. This budget is divided into two important parts: 1.05 trillion yen will be used for the research and development of next-generation chips and quantum computers, while 471.4 billion yen will focus on supporting domestic advanced chip production. Notably, the 'moon landing plan' of Rapidus is drawing attention, although details are still pending.

According to a report by Kyodo News on the 29th, Japan is facing a serious declining birthrate issue, with the number of marriages in 2023 dropping below 500,000 for the first time, marking a new low in 90 years. To tackle this challenge, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government has developed an AI matchmaking software called 'TOKYO Connect,' which was fully launched in September this year. The core feature of this software is its ability to use artificial intelligence for matching. Users are required to complete 110 questions on values and personality traits, after which the AI recommends highly compatible matches. Once matched, users can communicate through the software and arrange offline meetings.

Intel has partnered with Japan's National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) to establish the first chip manufacturing R&D center in Japan equipped with Extreme Ultraviolet (EUV) lithography technology. EUV technology is suitable for manufacturing chips at 5nm and below, providing Japanese chip designers with the opportunity to collaborate with AIST and Intel to leverage the latest process technologies and enhance their global competitiveness. The construction of this center is expected to take three to five years, with a total investment of several hundred million dollars, and will serve as a resource for semiconductor manufacturers and materials companies, charging fees. This collaboration will not only help

During a business conference, OpenAI's Japan business head, Yoshinobu Nagatomo, mentioned 'GPT Next' as a metaphorical reference to the next generation of large language models, suggesting that OpenAI's models are evolving exponentially over time. However, OpenAI later clarified that 'GPT Next' is merely a metaphor used to illustrate the concept of model evolution and is not an exact product name or timeline. Nagatomo depicted a transition from the 'GPT-3 Era' in 2021 to the 'GPT Next Era' in 2024 in his presentation.

GPT-4, OpenAI's language model, passed the Japanese National Physical Therapist Exam without additional training, achieving an accuracy rate of 73.4%. It excelled in handling pure text questions with an accuracy of 80.5%, but performed poorly in solving practical problems and dealing with questions containing images and tables, with accuracy rates of 46.6% and 35.4%, respectively. The research reveals the limitations of AI in certain areas, particularly in understanding complex contexts and visual information. Despite being trained on English data, GPT-4 still performed effectively when processing Japanese input.

In Japan, a revolution in artificial intelligence is quietly emerging. SakanaAI, led by AI heavyweights David Ha and Llion Jones, has just completed a funding round of $127 million, with a strong lineup of investors including Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital, and NEA. Founded in July 2023, SakanaAI has quickly become Japan's fastest-growing AI startup due to its unique entrepreneurial vision and top talent.

Japanese startup Carelogy has partnered with a Japanese university to develop an app called 'CatsMe!' This program uses artificial intelligence (AI) technology to provide cat owners with a new way to understand and care for their beloved pets.

Meta is expected to release the open-source AI model Llama 3 in July this year. South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg held talks. Zuckerberg visited Samsung and LG Electronics for collaboration discussions. In Japan, he met with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss AI risks.

Japan's birth population has declined for the eighth consecutive year, with marriages falling below 500,000 for the first time. The Japanese government faces a population crisis, as young people show a clear trend towards remaining single. Japan's population is projected to drop to 87 million by 2070. Local governments in Japan are utilizing AI algorithms to promote matchmaking activities.

The market size for generative AI in Japan is expected to reach 85 billion yuan by 2024.

The Japan government-supported semiconductor research group collaborates with the U.S. startup Tenstorrent Inc. to design AI chips. Tenstorrent is working with the Japanese government to design AI chips based on the open-source RISC-V standard. The Japanese government is investing $67 billion to reclaim core status in the semiconductor industry. Tenstorrent collaborates with the government-supported startup Rapidus Corp. to produce the AI chips. Jim Keller is a Silicon Valley legend who has worked at Apple.

["Sakana AI has announced the successful raising of $30 million in a seed round of financing.", "Investors include prominent firms such as Lux Capital and Khosla Ventures from the U.S., as well as well-known companies like Sony, NTT, and KDDI.", "The company will focus on research and development over the next year or two, exploring AI systems based on smaller 'agent' networks.", "Operating in Tokyo distinguishes Sakana AI from its Silicon Valley competitors, emphasizing the strength of Japan's top AI researchers."]

Japan's Kirin Holdings is accelerating new product concepts by recruiting binary intelligence. They are using generative AI to develop the 'Kirin Hyoketsu' beverage series, focusing on the ready-to-drink market. AI speeds up product development and shortens cycles by utilizing customer interview results. Generative AI considers survey findings to provide insights for new product design, aiming to improve development efficiency.

Nvidia plans to establish a series of semiconductor plants in Japan to meet the demand for artificial intelligence graphics chips, collaborating with Japanese companies to support advanced AI applications and strengthen Japan's AI technology infrastructure.