Japan asked U.S. artificial intelligence company Anthropic on Tuesday to help bolster cybersecurity as Japanese companies face a growing wave of cyberattacks.
Digital Minister Toshiharu Furukawa made the request during a roughly 30-minute meeting in Tokyo with Anthropic co-founder Jack Clark, seeking closer cooperation between the company and Japan's AI Safety Institute.
Japan hopes to draw on Anthropic's expertise to improve the institute's ability to identify vulnerabilities, Furukawa told reporters after the meeting.
The two sides already have an agreement, reached in October last year, to exchange information on methods for companies to evaluate capabilities, limitations and risks of AI models.
The talks also touched on AI regulation, with Furukawa saying Japan would continue consulting AI developers and industry representatives as it considers its approach. California's regulatory framework, which centers on safeguards and accountability measures, is among the models being examined.
Furukawa also urged Anthropic to consider Japan as a site for a data center, as demand for computing infrastructure surges worldwide. Building domestic capacity would help Japan reap greater economic benefits from the technology and strengthen its position in the AI supply chain, he said.