Japan Launches Quantum Computing Competition to Tackle Societal Issues

Japan's New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO) has launched a competition to incentivize the development of quantum computing for critical societal challenges.

The competition, with a prize pool of $1.3 million, would center around specific challenges facing Japanese society, such as disaster management and an aging population. These challenges would be selected through public suggestions, ensuring relevance and public engagement.

Participants, including those without quantum expertise, can receive free training and compete for prizes of $133,000 or more. The goal is to foster interdisciplinary collaboration and generate groundbreaking solutions.

“Although quantum computing seems to pose a high barrier to entry, I believe that people from a variety of fields can utilize their strengths in the field of quantum computing,” said judging committee chair Keisuke Fujii.

“I am looking forward to encountering diverse and free-spirited ideas and research that will exceed my imagination.”

The competition aims to democratize access to quantum computing by encouraging participation from individuals outside the traditional quantum computing sphere and contribute to a more diverse and inclusive quantum workforce.

It also targets the cross-pollination of ideas to accelerate the development of practical quantum applications by bringing together experts from various fields.

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Cutting-edge quantum computers, including AIST's G-QuAT, would be provided free of charge as a development environment.

“A fierce global research and development race has begun to bring about quantum computers, but the quantum world is still in its infancy and new perspectives and diverse ideas are required,” said Fujii.

“In addition, to realize innovation through quantum computers, the development of various application software is becoming increasingly important in order to solve social issues and create new industries.”

This initiative demonstrates Japan's commitment to harnessing quantum computing for societal good and to establishing itself as a global leader in this emerging field.