THE IMPACT OF THE AI AND QUANTUM TECHNOLOGY RACE BETWEEN CHINA AND THE US ON JAPANS INNOVATION ECOSYSTEM AND NATIONAL SECURITY

Abstract

Here it is explained how international competition for technological superiority with "artificial intelligence" (AI) and quantum technologies remapping political, economic, and military landscapes. This research explores heightened competition between the United States and China in these areas and what this means for Japan—a highly advanced technology nation Geopolitically aligned with the U.S, but economically with China. Japan currently grapples with the highest-level challenge of balance between its national security goals and its innovation agenda in the context of rising geopolitical tensions. Examining from the realist and sociocultural theoretical lenses, the research examines how Japan's domestic policy is constructed and strategic decisions guided by foreign pressure stemming from U.S.-China rivalry. It implies the dual-use nature of such technologies and how they can reconfigure global power politics. The study positions Japan as a key case study in order to demonstrate how middle powers have had to deal with difficult innovation-security contexts under the imposition of high-intensity technological change and geopolitics.