Japan's Quantum Push: RIKEN, Fujitsu and the National Strategy
Why Japan is a quantum story worth watching
Japan has a long record in superconducting circuits, precision manufacturing and supercomputing. That mix suits quantum computing well. Instead of betting on one approach, the country is running several at once, and it is trying to join quantum machines to the giant classical computers it already has. For anyone following the field, Japan is a great example of steady, practical, engineering led progress.
RIKEN and Fujitsu: the superconducting line
RIKEN is Japan's flagship national research institute, and Fujitsu is one of its biggest technology companies. They opened a joint research center in 2021. Reporting in 2025 says they delivered a superconducting quantum computer with 256 qubits, following an earlier 64 qubit system. A 2025 article reports Fujitsu finished a 1,000 square meter development base in Kawasaki in autumn 2025 and that preparations continue for a machine of about 1,000 qubits in fiscal 2026 (Japan's fiscal year 2026 runs from April 2026 to March 2027). Reports also describe an ambition of 10,000 qubits around 2030.
Two honest notes. First, as of 2026-10-09 we did not find a confirmed announcement that the 1,000 qubit machine is up and running, so treat it as a target. Second, a raw qubit count is not the same as a useful machine. Today's physical qubits are noisy, and real applications will need error correction. RIKEN managers have themselves said that very large numbers of qubits will be needed for fully error corrected computing. If you want to understand the hardware itself, start with superconducting qubits explained.
Reimei: a trapped ion machine at RIKEN
On February 12, 2025, RIKEN announced a new quantum computer called Reimei, a Japanese word meaning dawn. It uses a trapped ion design from Quantinuum, the real company, and sits in a facility RIKEN designed for it at its Wako campus. RIKEN says the installation is part of a project commissioned by NEDO, a national R&D agency under the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. The big next milestone is linking Reimei to the Fugaku supercomputer in Kobe to form a hybrid quantum and high performance computing platform. RIKEN's own researchers highlight high fidelity qubits and all-to-all connectivity as strengths of the design, which you can read about in the trapped ion guide.
This is a nice picture of Japan's strategy: one national institute hosting a home grown superconducting line and a foreign designed trapped ion machine side by side, so researchers can compare and learn.
The money, as reported
The Quantum Insider reported on November 28, 2025, citing The Japan News, that Japan planned about 400 billion yen (roughly 2.6 billion US dollars) in a supplementary budget covering quantum technology, AI and nuclear fusion. Within that, about 130 billion yen (roughly 855 million dollars) was for quantum, including about 100.4 billion yen to build R&D bases at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) and about 3.3 billion yen to strengthen cooperation among domestic quantum hubs. The report names Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as backing the package. We did not find confirmation of the final approved amounts or the regular fiscal 2026 quantum budget line, so check Japanese government sources for exact numbers.
Earlier, the same outlet reported in January 2025 that Japan allocated about 1.05 trillion yen for next generation chips and quantum computing research. That figure covers chips as well as quantum, so do not read it as a quantum only budget.
Software and access
Hardware is only half the story. RIKEN and Fujitsu have released an open source platform called OQTOPUS, and a 2025 report describes a cloud service on an 11 qubit processor at the University of Osaka that runs several users' programs in parallel. In the reported tests, 110 jobs finished 3.76 times faster than running them one after another. That is the kind of unglamorous tooling that makes machines actually usable. For the bigger picture of how programs reach hardware, see how a quantum program runs.
What to watch next
- Whether Fujitsu and RIKEN announce the roughly 1,000 qubit system, and what error rates come with it.
- Whether Reimei is linked to Fugaku as planned, a step toward hybrid quantum and classical workflows.
- How the AIST research bases take shape and how funds are allocated across hubs.
- Joint work with other countries, including the UK and Japan program covered in UK, India and Japan quantum programs.
The optimistic read
Japan is doing what patient industrial nations do well: funding national institutes, building at scale, inviting outside designs, and focusing on tools that researchers can really use. Whatever the timeline, a country that connects its quantum machines to a world class supercomputer is building the exact kind of hybrid workflow many experts expect to matter first. For the wider regional picture, see the Asia-Pacific race compared.
Not financial advice. This page is about science and public policy. The QNT community token is an independent memecoin with no connection to any lab, company or government named here, including the real company Quantinuum Ltd. See the memecoin versus the company.
Sources and further reading
- RIKEN: Reimei quantum computer announcement (Feb 12, 2025)
- The Quantum Insider: Japan channels almost 900 million dollars into quantum push
- WebProNews: 256 qubit machine, Kawasaki base and cloud access
- Quantum Zeitgeist: Fujitsu facility for a 1,000 qubit computer
Reported as of 2026-10-09. Government programs and company roadmaps change often, so check the primary documents before relying on any figure. Nothing here is financial advice. The QNT memecoin is independent and has no link to any company, lab or government mentioned.
Frequently asked questions
How many qubits does the RIKEN and Fujitsu computer have?
Reporting in 2025 says 256 superconducting qubits, with a roughly 1,000 qubit machine planned for fiscal 2026. We found no confirmation yet that the larger one is running.
What is Reimei?
A trapped ion quantum computer at RIKEN's Wako campus, announced February 12, 2025, using a Quantinuum designed architecture and planned to link to the Fugaku supercomputer.
How much is Japan spending on quantum?
A reported late 2025 supplementary budget plan set aside about 130 billion yen for quantum. Final approved figures and the regular budget should be checked on official Japanese sources.
Is the QNT memecoin connected to RIKEN or Fujitsu?
No. QNT is an independent community memecoin with no link to any lab, company or government. This is not financial advice.
Keep reading
- The Asia-Pacific Quantum Race: Japan, Korea, Singapore, Australia, India and Taiwan Compared
A side by side look at six Asia-Pacific quantum programs, what each is best at, and why 'the race' is better seen as many different bets. - UK, India and Japan Quantum Programs: Strategy, Money and Targets
A guide to the UK National Quantum Strategy, India's National Quantum Mission and Japan's quantum efforts, with the numbers as reported in 2026. - Superconducting Qubits Explained in Depth
How do superconducting qubits work? A clear look at circuits, microwave control, strengths, weaknesses and open questions in widely used quantum hardware. - Trapped Ion Quantum Computers Explained
How do trapped ion quantum computers work? Learn how charged atoms become qubits, why they are accurate, why they are slow, and how they might scale.
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