Report: Japan and U.S. to Announce $100M Shipbuilding R&D Project Using AI
Reports from the Japanese media on Tuesday indicated that Japan’s Prime Minister will announce a new $100 million investment project to develop AI-driven technologies in part to aid the U.S. shipbuilding industry. It is a tangible project within the $550 million in investments Japan pledged to the Trump administration to win a trade deal in 2025.
News outlets Nikkei and the Yomiuri Shimbun report the agreement will be finalized when Prime Minister Sanse Takaichi and Donald Trump meet in Washington, D.C., on Thursday, March 19. The two leaders met in Japan in November 2025, and afterward, the Prime Minister said they had formed a strong bond.
Takaichi’s government is placing a high priority on stabilizing and reversing a long decline in Japan’s shipbuilding industry. Once a leader, Japan slipped as South Korea and China grew, and today it is a distant third in volume. Japan’s leading shipbuilders have been moving to consolidate their operations and have called for the government to support investments.
The new government in late 2025 set a goal to double Japan’s shipbuilding output over the next decade. It committed to leading a more than $6 billion public-private partnership to support the industry and drive growth.
According to the news media reports, the new $100 million joint project will focus on research and development of robotics and AI-powered applications. It will explore utilizing artificial intelligence and robotics in areas such as autonomous welding, and to increase shipyard efficiency and output.
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Japan is moving forward with its commitments as South Korea also reported it has adopted legislation for its promised investments in the United States, including the Make American Shipbuilding Great Again (MASGA) program. Last week, the South Korean parliament approved the $350 billion overall investment program, and today, March 17, the South Korean president’s cabinet passed the legislation authorizing the investments.
South Korea agreed to establish a Korea-U.S. Strategic Investment Corporation with approximately $1.4 billion from the government. It will implement the investments in U.S. shipbuilding and other strategic areas. The Make America Shipbuilding Great Again program calls for South Korea to invest $150 billion to help revitalize U.S. shipbuilding.