Govt, Carmakers to Join Hands on Autonomous Cars With AI; New Technology Allows Greater Adaptability, Lower Cost

The Yomiuri Shimbun

6:00 JST, May 30, 2025

Major Japanese automobile manufacturers are planning to jointly develop self-driving technology that uses generative AI, according to sources.

The companies are expected to cooperate in developing such elements as the AI infrastructure and in the collection of driving data. The government will provide financial support. It is hoped that through this endeavor, Japan’s public and private sectors will catch up with the United States and China in the development of self-driving cars.

The Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry and the Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Ministry were to submit a strategy plan at a meeting on Thursday.

Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and other Japanese major carmakers are expected to decide by this summer the fields in which they will cooperate.

This move to promote cooperation in both the public and private sectors reflects concern about the changes that generative AI has triggered in the development of self-driving technology.

The “conventional” self-driving technology that Japanese carmakers have developed so far enables automobiles to maneuver the steering wheel using geographical information and driving rules that they learned beforehand. This kind of technology needs time to have the cars learn about various situations on the road, and it cannot respond flexibly to unpredictable situations.

It also requires high-precision 3D maps and expensive sensors.

In contrast, cars with self-driving technology that uses generative AI can ascertain their situation and independently make judgements in any unpredictable situation, based on footage taken by the dashboard camera, which functions like human eyes.

Such cars can be developed at a lower cost than conventional ones.

U.S. carmaker Tesla has developed high-precision self-driving technology with generative AI, and Chinese makers are accelerating their development of such cars.

Japanese makers have been cautious about developing such vehicles due to safety concerns. However, with AI-supported cars expected to become mainstream, the Japanese government decided to provide financial support and support cooperation among domestic automakers in developing the AI infrastructure and collecting driving data.