Takaichi Attends 2026 Japan Startup Awards Ceremony
Overview
On September 25, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the 2025 Japan Startup Awards ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office. In her remarks, she offered congratulations on the 2026 Japan Startup Awards ceremony and introduced the physical AI developed by Mujin, Inc., which received the Prime Minister's Award, as well as the improved work efficiency at facilities using it. She also expressed hope that startups would lead domestic investment in the 17 strategic fields.
Key points
- On September 25, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the 2025 Japan Startup Awards ceremony and referred in her remarks to the 2026 Japan Startup Awards ceremony.
- In her remarks, she introduced Mujin, Inc. as the recipient of the Prime Minister's Award at the Japan Startup Awards.
- The Takaichi Cabinet positioned startups as a cross-cutting issue in its Japan Growth Strategy and expressed hope that they would lead domestic investment across 17 strategic fields.
Overview
On September 25, 2026, Prime Minister Takaichi attended the 2025 Japan Startup Awards ceremony at the Prime Minister's Office. At the start of her remarks, she offered congratulations on holding the 2026 Japan Startup Awards ceremony.
In her remarks, she explained that the Takaichi Cabinet's Japan Growth Strategy positions startups as one cross-cutting issue to spread strategic domestic investment nationwide.
Impact
The Prime Minister said that at a distribution center using Mujin's robots, the process of loading a variety of daily goods in different configurations for each destination had been fully automated, greatly improving work efficiency.
The Prime Minister expressed hope that startups would lead domestic investment in the 17 strategic fields, inspire people aspiring to launch businesses, spur the creation of startups in Japan, and help shape Japan's future.
Details
The Prime Minister introduced Mujin, Inc., recipient of the Prime Minister's Award, as advancing the development and deployment of physical AI, which gives industrial robots the ability to "see and think" and automates logistics and manufacturing operations.
As areas where she hoped to see progress, she cited the 17 strategic fields, including physical AI, AI and semiconductors, the defense industry, aviation and space, and food tech.