Japan

• 2026-10-19 to 2026-10-30 (upcoming): a call for information on regulations that obstruct AI deployment, run by the Cabinet Office. It feeds the Regulatory Reform Council and the Basic Plan revision, and is a deregulatory signal. The page itself is dated around 2026-10-02.
• 2026-10-07: the AI Safety Institute held its half-year reports (evaluation environment task force, conformity assessment and education working groups), with a press release on 2026-10-09; AISI original documents were not fetched.

What to watch: the outcome of the call for information and its effect on the Basic Plan.

• AI Promotion Act (Act No. 53 of Reiwa 7, 2025). A framework and promotion statute that imposes no fines. Its promulgation and enforcement dates rest on a secondary source and need confirmation against e-Gov.
• Second AI Basic Plan (Cabinet decision, 2026-07-14). A non-binding plan that emphasises AI transformation ("AX") and review of existing regulation. The plan PDF was read only via a snippet.
• AI Strategy Headquarters guideline on the appropriateness of AI research, development and use (2025-12-19; Article 13 of the Act; non-binding).
• AI Guidelines for Business, version 1.2 (MIC and METI, 2026-03-31). Non-binding; adds AI agents and physical AI.
• Amended APPI (enacted 2026-07-10). Includes a consent exemption for statistical and AI-development uses and an administrative surcharge system.

The AI Promotion Act encourages development and use of AI and creates coordination machinery; it does not prohibit particular AI uses and carries no penalties. Practical obligations come from data-protection law (the APPI) and from voluntary guidance that businesses are expected to follow.

There are no AI-specific fines. The practical compliance driver is personal-data law: the amended APPI introduces an administrative surcharge system and a consent exemption for statistical and AI-development processing, with commencement phased over up to two years. The exact commencement dates beyond "within two years" were not verified and come from a secondary source.

The soft-law guidelines are non-binding but are the reference point for responsible AI practice in Japan. Research assistance, not legal advice; verify before reliance.