Japan's Digital Agency has started offering a trial generative AI tool to help officials draft replies to parliamentary questions, aiming to ease the workload of about 180,000 civil servants.
The application, offered from October 30, is designed to cover the whole process of preparing answers, from searching past replies and reference materials to drafting. Preparing responses to questions raised in the Diet has long been a demanding task for ministries and agencies. The Digital Agency stressed that officials will still finalise replies and make policy decisions, and that judgment will not be delegated to AI.
Several other stories were reported in the same roundup. Strong Typhoon No. 31 (In-fa) was moving away from Japan, but powerful waves were expected along coasts in eastern and northern Japan. Japanese calligraphy is set to be added to UNESCO's Intangible Cultural Heritage list, and Yubari in Hokkaido plans to repay about 35.3 billion yen of debt by March 2027.
Diplomatic and political news included rare talks between Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov at a G20 meeting in Atlanta. Opposition lawmakers are pressing the government to clarify eligibility and payment amounts for a new support program tied to a food consumption tax cut. Separately, a New York Times report said U.S. agencies suspect a Chinese intelligence operative cultivated Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.
The trial shows how Japan is trying to use generative AI inside government while keeping human officials accountable for decisions.
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