Japan courts India, Malaysia to escape US-China AI duopoly

AdvertisementJapanAsiaEast AsiaJapan courts India, Malaysia to escape US-China AI duopolyFears over foreign software curbs have pushed Tokyo to pitch its own tech to Asian partners and others2-MIN READ2-MIN ListenKyodoPublished: 12:57pm, 25 Jul 2026Updated: 1:07pm, 25 Jul 2026Japan has been establishing dialogue frameworks for artificial intelligence with like-minded countries and Global South partners to reduce reliance on top US and Chinese firms and promote domestic companies abroad.The outreach signals a growing recognition among those countries of the need for cooperation, rather than going it alone, to survive in the increasingly competitive field of AI. At home, Japan is seeking to foster its own domestic AI ecosystem.

The move by the United States to restrict access to AI developer Anthropic’s Fable and Mythos models also highlighted the risks of relying on AI developed overseas.At a summit in early July between Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Indian counterpart Narendra Modi, they agreed to deepen AI-related cooperation on data centres and semiconductors. They also pledged to hold dialogue on AI regularly, under a framework that began in April.

Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi attend an economic forum in New Delhi on July 2. Photo: KyodoJapan and France also held their first high-level AI talks in Paris in June to discuss cooperation, including with developing countries collectively called the Global South. Japanese firms such as major tech investor Softbank and leading Japan AI start-up Sakana AI K.

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