Courtesy call on Prime Minister KISHIDA by Microsoft Vice Chair and President (Summary)

On April 9th, commencing at 11:40 a.m. (local time; 00:40 a.m. on April 10th Japan time) for approximately 20 minutes, during his official visit to Washington, DC, Mr. KISHIDA Fumio, Prime Minister of Japan, received a courtesy call from Mr. Brad Smith, Vice Chair and President, Microsoft. The overview of the meeting is as follows:

1. At the outset, Prime Minister Kishida stated that, as economic activities in the digital space increase, it is important for the Japanese industry as a whole to work with global companies such as Microsoft that are equipped with a set of digital infrastructure.

2. Vice Chair and President Smith announced Microsoft’s new investment in Japan, including US$2.9 billion to increase its hyperscale cloud computing and AI infrastructure in Japan, to open its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in Tokyo, as well as to enhance its cybersecurity collaboration with the Government of Japan, while he commended the leadership of the Hiroshima AI Process under Prime Minister Kishida. In response, Prime Minister Kishida expressed his appreciation for the company's new investment in Japan and, after mentioning the efforts under the Hiroshima AI Process, stated that he looks forward to further collaboration, acknowledging that Microsoft has made significant contributions to the social implementation of generative AI in Japan through various initiatives.