NVIDIA and Japan Bring Full-Stack AI and Robotics to Every Industry

Japan, a nation globally recognized for its mastery of precision manufacturing, robotics, and industrial infrastructure, is rapidly cementing its status as a cornerstone of the global artificial intelligence revolution. By integrating the full NVIDIA technology stack, Japanese industry leaders are not merely adopting AI—they are architecting a new economic engine. This week, NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang visited Tokyo to engage with the nation’s top innovators, showcasing how the fusion of physical hardware and generative AI is poised to redefine the future of work.

A Personal AI Revolution: The "Build-a-Claw" Initiative

The tone for the week was set not in a boardroom, but in a workshop. Upon arriving in Tokyo, Huang made an unannounced visit to Studio Koku, located within the serene Happo-en gardens. The event, dubbed "Build-a-Claw," saw local developers utilizing open models and NVIDIA’s platforms to engineer robots capable of complex physical manipulation.

Huang’s interaction with the builders underscored a pivotal shift in the technological landscape:

"Forty years ago was the beginning of the PC revolution. Now, forty years later, instead of a personal computer, you can now have your own personal AI. I’m happy that all of you are here to build your own claw, your own agent."

To encourage this hands-on innovation, Huang presented two autographed NVIDIA DGX Spark personal AI supercomputers to lucky participants. This initiative highlights the core of NVIDIA’s physical AI strategy: empowering individual creators to bridge the gap between digital intelligence and physical movement.

Manufacturing Intelligence: Addressing the Labor Gap

During a subsequent press briefing, Huang emphasized that Japan’s historical prowess in precision engineering provides a unique advantage in the age of AI. By combining traditional manufacturing expertise with modern AI, Japan can effectively combat its domestic labor shortages.

"Japan has historically been very good at precision manufacturing and very large-scale manufacturing, but now we have AI," Huang noted. "You can combine the two technologies and create robotics. The future of intelligent manufacturing, the future of robotics can now start."

A Strategic Supply Chain Summit

The future of AI is inextricably linked to the hardware that powers it. Recognizing this, Huang hosted a high-level summit at an izakaya in Tokyo’s Kanda district, bringing together over 30 senior executives from 16 of Japan’s most influential supply chain companies.

The gathering included leaders from industry titans such as Tokyo Electron (TEL), Mitsubishi Electric, Panasonic, Renesas Electronics, and TDK Corporation. These discussions focused on securing the semiconductor equipment, memory, and materials necessary to sustain the global AI-led future.

Industrial Titans Commit to Physical AI

The transition from national ambition to factory-floor reality requires the participation of the world’s leading robotics manufacturers. In a strategic lunch meeting at Tonkatsu Fumizen, Huang met with the CEOs of Fujitsu, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, FANUC, and Yaskawa.

These four companies represent the backbone of Japanese industrial automation. Their collective commitment to the NVIDIA platform signals a unified path toward integrating physical AI into global manufacturing systems. Takahito Tokita, CEO of Fujitsu, reflected on the shared vision of the group:

"Although we come from different countries and industries, we share the same values. We make business decisions not only for the benefit of our own companies, but also with the sustainable development of our industries and ultimately the world in mind."

A National Commitment: The Physical AI Initiative

At the Prince Park Tower, the Japanese government officially launched a national Physical AI Initiative. Joined by Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, NVIDIA solidified a partnership aimed at developing open multimodal foundation models. This government-backed effort is designed to synthesize industrial data and manufacturing expertise to accelerate the deployment of digital twins and autonomous agents.

SoftBank and the AI-Native Network

The collaboration between SoftBank and NVIDIA is reaching new heights. During his visit, Huang met with SoftBank CEO Junichi Miyakawa to align on the development of AI-native networks. SoftBank is currently leveraging the full NVIDIA stack—including GB200-class infrastructure and NVIDIA AI Aerial—to transform its communications network into an "intelligence delivery network."

Key collaborative efforts include:

• Generative AI Integration: Utilizing NVIDIA Nemotron alongside SB Intuitions’ "Sarashina" model series.
• Physical AI Advancements: Partnering with Yaskawa Electric to deploy NVIDIA Cosmos and Isaac GR00T.

Revolutionizing Healthcare and Life Sciences

Japan’s medical technology and biopharma sectors are undergoing a generational shift. From autonomous surgical robots to AI-accelerated CT systems, Japanese innovators are deploying NVIDIA technology to reshape clinical outcomes.

Agentic AI in Drug Discovery

The Tokyo-1 consortium, operated by Xeureka, continues to expand its influence. Recent milestones include:

• Astellas: Deploying BioNeMo NIM microservices to turn AI agents into autonomous life sciences researchers.
• Ono Pharmaceuticals: Utilizing Boltz-2 NIM to streamline internal discovery.
• Daiichi Sankyo: Leveraging NVIDIA RAPIDS for ultralarge-scale data processing.
• SyntheticGestalt: Launching ZAO and KOYA, two foundation models that achieve world-class performance in molecular design.

The Operating Room of the Future

Kawasaki Heavy Industries is integrating NVIDIA Holoscan IGX and Isaac for Healthcare to develop surgical support and nursing assistant robots. Furthermore, Canon and Fujifilm have introduced next-generation CT systems powered by NVIDIA GPUs, marking a transition where AI is no longer an experimental tool, but a fundamental component of medical infrastructure.

Vision AI: Metropolis and the Agentic Future

As video data proliferates across physical spaces, NVIDIA Metropolis is providing the libraries necessary to move from passive monitoring to active, agentic systems. With over 80 new skills—including VSS Blueprint 3.2 and DeepStream 9.1—developers can now build vision AI agents 6x faster.

Major Japanese firms, including Hitachi, OMRON, and Shimizu Corporation, are utilizing these tools to bring real-time intelligence to construction sites, retail environments, and public transportation.

Financial Intelligence: The New Banking Standard

Japan’s "megabanks" are building sovereign AI factories to handle sensitive financial data. Mizuho is constructing an on-premises AI factory using NVIDIA DGX B200 systems, ensuring that critical data remains secure while enabling the deployment of autonomous financial agents. Similarly, the Japan Research Institute (JRI) and Rakuten Bank are utilizing NVIDIA Nemotron and the Agent Toolkit to transform high-volume transaction data into actionable financial intelligence.

Quantum Computing and AI for Science

The partnership between the U.S. and Japan is reaching into the quantum realm. At RIKEN, two new supercomputers—RIKYU and the quantum-HPC system ROQUO—are now operational, powered by NVIDIA Blackwell GPUs.

These systems are enabling hybrid quantum-classical workflows, with researchers using the NVIDIA CUDA-Q platform to explore evolutionary AI frameworks. This collaboration is essential for solving complex problems in materials science and chemistry, with recent workflows achieving a 13.4x speedup over traditional CPU-only methods.

Toyota and the Future of Mobility

The partnership between Toyota and NVIDIA continues to deepen, focusing on the intersection of vehicles, infrastructure, and industrial operations. Key areas of advancement include:

• L2++ Autonomous Driving: Utilizing NVIDIA DRIVE AGX and DriveOS.
• Software Engineering: Implementing a MISRA-compliant Code Assistant AI model to accelerate safety-critical software development.
• Factory Digital Twins: Using NVIDIA Omniverse and Isaac Sim to optimize manufacturing efficiency and reduce downtime.

Celebrating 30 Years of Gaming Innovation

Finally, the visit highlighted the enduring legacy of Japanese gaming. NVIDIA and SEGA celebrated three decades of collaboration by announcing that VIRTUA FIGHTER CROSSROADS and other legendary titles will arrive on NVIDIA RTX Spark, a new superchip designed for slim Windows laptops and compact desktops.

From the arcades of Akihabara to the cutting edge of quantum-classical hybrid computing, the message from Tokyo is clear: Japan is not just participating in the AI era—it is building the physical and digital infrastructure that will define the next century of global industry.