That theme runs through Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi’s message to the 2026 U.S.–Japan Council Annual Conference in Tokyo on October 15, delivered on her behalf by Parliamentary Vice-Minister for Foreign Affairs Koki Ozora. Noting that the international order is unstable and that Japan intends to take on greater responsibility for peace and prosperity, Takaichi, BGF’s 2023 World Leader in AIWS Award recipient, emphasized that closer government cooperation must be accompanied by deeper exchanges between the two peoples. She expressed the hope that the Council’s network would generate new leaders and ideas to carry the relationship forward.
The message reflects a conviction at the heart of BGF’s Shinzo Abe Initiative: Prime Minister Shinzo Abe understood that the alliance endures through trust between peoples as much as through agreements between governments. In the AI Age, BGF proposes that cooperation should strengthen both technological capability and the human relationships that make its responsible use possible.
Universities, businesses, civic organizations, and emerging leaders can contribute through shared work: developing trustworthy AI practices, creating cultural projects, and helping communities use AI to expand their own capabilities. AIWS Trust Infrastructure and Human–AI Co-Creation offer directions for that cooperation. BGF began this work in Japan on June 12, 2026, when the Tokyo Compact and the AIWS Trust Order Board were established at Interop Tokyo.
The enduring strength of an alliance lies partly in the people prepared to carry it forward—and in the worthwhile work they choose to undertake together.
