On June 23, 2026, the Japan Association of New Economy (JANE) submitted comments in response to the public consultation on the “AI Basic Plan (Draft)” conducted by the Artificial Intelligence Policy Office, Science, Technology and Innovation Policy Secretariat, Cabinet Office.

[Summary of Comments]

1. Improving the consultation process to better reflect industry input
   Industry collaboration is essential to achieving the government’s vision of AI Transformation (AX) across society. However, the recent public comment period—less than one week—was insufficient. Collaboration with the private sector is also indispensable when revising systems and plans in light of technological developments. JANE strongly urges that future consultation periods be extended to approximately one month to ensure that industry perspectives are properly reflected.

2. Reforming procurement systems and removing barriers to startup participation
   While supporting the government and local authorities taking the lead in AI adoption, current public procurement practices involve overly rigid requirements and are premised on single-year, buyout-based models. These factors create barriers for high-quality domestic SaaS providers and startups. To turn public-sector demand into growth opportunities for domestic businesses, JANE calls for explicit reforms to procurement systems, including cloud-first approaches and phased implementation starting from small-scale pilot projects.

3. Continuous review of legal interpretations for AI use in specialized fields
   In professional domains such as legal and tax services, there are concerns that AI-driven analysis and support could be deemed unauthorized practice. To promote AX across society, JANE urges continuous review of legal interpretations and their application in line with rapidly evolving services, in order to eliminate legal uncertainty that may hinder innovation.

4. Flexible guideline-based governance and liability mitigation
   While regulatory frameworks must keep pace with technological progress, compliance costs arising from regulatory changes should not discourage business activity. JANE advocates for guideline-based self-regulation as the primary approach. It also calls for unified interpretation across ministries to prevent excessive burdens from fragmented regulations, and for mechanisms to mitigate liability for businesses that comply with guidelines, thereby creating incentives for voluntary compliance.

5. Support for practical training of “AI implementation talent”
   A major bottleneck in promoting AX across society is the shortage of professionals who can understand both AI and on-the-ground operational challenges and implement tailored solutions. JANE emphasizes the need to prioritize the development of such “AI implementation talent,” rather than focusing solely on R&D personnel. It calls for support for practical training programs that leverage private-sector expertise, including on-the-job training and industry–academia collaboration projects to address real-world challenges.