Japan Expands National Quantum Testbeds, Innovation Hubs, and Global Partnerships
At Quantum World Congress 2025, Japan detailed new measures to expand its national quantum ecosystem—including major upgrades to its testbed infrastructure, expanded innovation hubs, a comprehensive ecosystem framework focused on workforce, resources, and finance, and deepening collaborations with the EU, North America, and the Asia-Pacific region.
Presenting the National Quantum Update: Japan at Quantum World Congress 2025, Masahiro Horibe, Deputy Director at AIST’s G-QuAT (Global Quantum Computing Innovation Hub) and Sub-Project Director of SIP at the Cabinet Office, provided a deep overview of Japan’s fast-growing national quantum strategy. His presentation highlighted new government measures, expanded national infrastructure, and Japan’s commitment to international quantum cooperation.
Expanded National Innovation Hub Network
In 2025, the Japanese government released new measures to strengthen its national quantum ecosystem. Most notably, Kyoto University was added to Japan’s National Quantum Technology Innovation Hub, bringing the total number of hub members to 12.
AIST’s G-QuAT is one of the core members of this hub network and plays a leading role in building a global quantum business ecosystem.
Japan’s New Quantum Ecosystem Measures (May 2025)
In May 2025, Japan published a major report outlining new government measures for the national quantum ecosystem. The document emphasizes three critical pillars:
Workforce: Growing researchers, engineers, and quantum end-users.
Resources: Building national testbeds, next-generation device development environments, and supply-chain manufacturing capabilities.
Finance: Expanding investment beyond public funding by accelerating private-sector engagement and creating market-ready ecosystems.
The report outlines how Japan will accelerate national quantum development by strengthening workforce pipelines, expanding testbed resources, and increasing private-sector financing for quantum technologies.
Massive Investment in National Quantum Testbeds
“Our testbeds are open not only to Japanese researchers, but also to stakeholders around the world.”
A key pillar of Japan’s strategy is building world-class testbed infrastructure for R&D, commercialization, and supply-chain development.
Over the last two years, the Japanese government has invested approximately ¥60 billion (about $420 million USD) into quantum facilities at G-QuAT. An additional budget—nearly ¥100 billion—was approved last year to accelerate industrialization of quantum computing technologies.
These testbeds are open not only to Japanese researchers, but also to global stakeholders:
Private companies
Research institutes
Universities
National projects across multiple countries
Three Major Testbed Platforms
G-QuAT now operates three fully developed testbed environments:
1. Quantum–Classical Hybrid Computing Infrastructure
A platform designed for industry-level use-case development, including middleware testing and hybrid quantum–classical workflow development.
2. Evaluation Testbed
A system built around dilution refrigerators, photonics, and microwave measurement environments, supporting the development of new components and instruments for next-generation quantum computers.
3. Device Manufacturing Testbed for Superconducting Qubits
Japan has more than 30 years of superconducting device expertise, enabling advanced manufacturing capabilities using niobium technology, control-circuit design, fabrication, and qubit evaluation.
G-QuAT already provides:
Large-scale dilution refrigerators
High-throughput cryogenic testing (one device tested in one day)
Complete design-to-fabrication process flows
Demonstrated superconducting qubit prototypes using digital superconducting circuit technologies
Japan’s Current Computing Systems
Japan currently operates:
One GPU-based HPC system (ranked #27 on the TOP500), used exclusively for quantum computing research rather than AI
Two quantum computer platforms already deployed
A new photonic quantum computer currently under construction
A large-scale testbed platform for future quantum computer development
Deepening International Cooperation
Japan is actively expanding global partnerships to accelerate next-generation quantum systems and applications.
Horibe emphasized Japan’s multi-region collaboration strategy:
North America & Europe: Co-developing next-generation quantum computer systems
Asia-Pacific region: Accelerating quantum use-case development and deployment
Global ecosystem building: Incubation spaces for international startups and engagement with venture capital to scale quantum businesses in Japan and across APAC
Japan has signed numerous MOUs, LOIs, and collaboration agreements with centers of excellence worldwide.
Major New Japan–EU Collaboration
Japan and the European Union recently signed a new partnership to coordinate quantum research. In early 2026, the partnership will launch the EU–Japan HSP (High-Performance Quantum Computing Project), jointly led by Japan’s SIP program (with Horibe as Japan’s lead) and Europe’s CSC in Finland.
Japan will provide computing and testbed resources as part of this collaboration.
Horibe concluded by emphasizing Japan’s openness to global collaboration:
“We are happy to collaborate with all countries.”