Minister Akazawa Attends G20 Innovation Ministerial Meeting
Overview
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa attended the G20 Innovation Ministerial Meeting held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States. Discussions covered AI and intellectual property, AI and standards, and investment in and the resilience of supply chains. A ministerial statement and related documents were issued. The documents addressed the Carolina Principles, AI and intellectual property policy, standards, and supply chains.
Key points
- Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Akazawa attended the G20 Innovation Ministerial Meeting.
- The meeting discussed AI and intellectual property, AI and standards, and investment in and the resilience of supply chains.
- A ministerial statement and related documents were issued.
Overview
On September 2, 2026, the meeting was held in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, United States, the G20 presidency country, and Minister Akazawa participated.
As an outcome, a G20 Innovation Ministerial Statement and related documents were issued, including the Carolina Principles, which promote human-centered innovation throughout the technology development lifecycle.
Impact
The initiative will promote improvements in living standards and public services, including healthcare, education, transportation, and government services, through safe and reliable AI. It will develop skilled technical workers for the AI era and support the acquisition of necessary skills.
To strengthen supply chains, the initiative will ensure information sharing and transparency, expand domestic manufacturing capacity in strategic sectors, and reduce trade barriers such as excessive licensing requirements and forced technology transfers.
Details
Japan is a longevity society and a disaster-prone nation, with advanced manufacturing sites, the world's only decommissioning site, and abundant distinctive and valuable big data. Japan is combining these assets with AI to establish a physical AI ecosystem. Japan also communicated the need to discuss balancing AI development with intellectual property protection, fair and evidence-based international standards, and market impacts.
Japan expressed the view that stockpiling systems for oil and critical minerals contribute to strengthening AI- and manufacturing-related supply chains and can support similar efforts by other countries. AI will be used for advanced supply chain analysis, risk management, and investment management and research and development analysis for critical technologies to advance resilience. Through AISI, Japan will contribute to safety and security, while the statement and related documents called for protection of trade secrets and remedies for the misuse of intellectual property.