AI: A strategic technology in Japan?

The industrial society in Japan is now entering into a new era of an advanced information society or a network society. AI as a knowledge information processing technology is becoming an integral part of the society. This emerging era is being supported by the information industry.The Fifth Generation Computer System (FGCS) Project of Japan (ICOT, 1987) was initiated in 1982 as a part of major programme supported by Japan's Ministry of International Trade and Industry (MITI). Its objective is to develop parallel computer systems for knowledge information processing. The system is based on AI and logic programming. The Human Frontier Science Programme (HFSP, 1987), proposed by former Prime Minister Nakasone at the economic Summit held in Venice in 1987, aims at promoting basic research on human perception, cognition, and learning.This paper deals with the background of FGCS and HFSP, and the impact of AI technology on FGCS and HFSP within Japan.