Japan weighs AI penalties to gain leverage over US frontier labs

Japan is considering penalties for AI companies that ignore government orders. The penalties will be aimed mostly at U.S. developers of advanced AI, whose systems Japan uses but cannot force to share information. Officials plan to publish a full reform blueprint before the end of 2026. Why can’t Japan make American AI companies cooperate? Japan’s AI Promotion Act , which states that if AI misuse harms someone’s rights, the government can investigate and give guidance, took full effect in September 2025. But the law has no punishment for a company that simply refuses to cooperate. Japan is now considering including penalties in its law. This regulatory gap is a bigger problem with foreign companies.

BeCrypto News shows a short excerpt and links to the publisher. The full report belongs to Cryptopolitan.