Japan to launch council to overhaul legal frameworks governing AI use

Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara (third from left) speaks at a meeting of the digital administrative and fiscal reform council, held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo on Tuesday. The government decided Tuesday to establish a new council to drastically overhaul legal frameworks governing the development and use of artificial intelligence. The plan was included in the government's 2026 basic policy guidelines adopted at a meeting of the digital administrative and fiscal reform council, held at the Prime Minister's Office in Tokyo. This council, launched under the administration of former Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, will be reorganized into the new body. The guidelines stressed the urgency of advancing what is described as AI transformation, or a fundamental review of work using AI, to cope with population decline.