By Hiroyuki Kume / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Japan's Economy, Trade and Industry Ministry on Monday announced six "frontier areas" that it considers to have promising business prospects and critical importance for economic security. These include technologies for extracting natural hydrogen, which is generated underground, as well as robotic technologies for use in the ocean.
The ministry will provide priority support to these areas, starting in fiscal 2026, to enhance international competitiveness. It has included 6.6 billion yen for related expenses in its initial budget request for fiscal 2026. It then plans to gradually increase budget requests and continue to provide support.
The remaining four areas are: technologies for removing carbon dioxide from the ocean; neurotechnology, which makes use of brain activity data; advanced materials usable in harsh conditions; and quantum sensing for high-precision measurements using quantum technology.
These areas were selected due to their potential, degree of technological innovation and Japan's competitive advantage in them. Sufficient promotion of these areas through private-sector efforts alone is also considered difficult.
The ministry aims to develop these areas into core industries as early as fiscal 2040, and plans to begin soliciting relevant projects from early next year. It will also select outstanding technologies through contests offering prize money for their development.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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December 09, 2025 06:33 ET (11:33 GMT)
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