Building Trust, Driving Innovation: AI Governance Lessons from Japan and Singapore
Registration will open from 2:40pm at the lobby of Block 80, Pasir Panjang Road (Level 2, just next to the drop off/pickup point). Please look for the event signage at the counter. If you arrive after 3:10pm and the counter is unmanned, please drop a text to 86606726 as you will require assistance to enter the Google office.
[Organiser note: We have opened up 30 more seats to the event due to requests from the community. See you next week!]
Japan and Singapore are carving distinct yet complementary paths in AI governance — both aimed at enabling trust and driving innovation.
Japan: Through the AI Promotion Act and the 2025 AI Interim Report, Japan emphasises a soft-law, innovation-first approach that encourages collaboration between government, business, academia, and citizens.
Singapore: Taking a balanced and practical stance, Singapore is building a trusted AI ecosystem through technology-agnostic regulations to protect against harms, practical tools to address AI-specific issues, investment in research, and international alignment.
These frameworks are not just about managing risks — they are about creating the confidence needed for industries to adopt trustworthy AI reliably at scale, unlocking new opportunities for innovation and growth.
What you’ll learn at this event
We’ll bring perspectives from both Japan and Singapore to explore:
Japan’s 2025 AI regulatory approach and its implications for businesses
Japan’s quest for AI leadership and response to global AI competition, including the “DeepSeek Shock”
How Singapore’s governance approach — supported by practical tools, programmes, and research— helps industry build confidence in the development and use of AI
This event is designed for:
Founders and startup leaders
Innovators and industry practitioners
Policymakers and ecosystem builders
If you’re curious about how Japan and Singapore are shaping AI governance — and how these efforts are designed to enable AI adoption and innovation across industries — this session is for you.
Our speakers
Prof Hiroki Habuka is a Research Professor at the Graduate School of Law, Kyoto University, and the CEO of Smart Governance Ltd. He specializes in agile governance, a multi-stakeholder and distributed governance model that integrates regulation, corporate governance, and system risk management, particularly in the field of AI and data. In 2020, the World Economic Forum's Global Future Councils on Agile Governance recognized him as one of the World’s 50 Most Influential People Revolutionising Government (Agile 50). Hiroki holds a Master’s degree in Law (LL.M., Fulbright Fellow) from Stanford Law School, a Juris Doctor from the University of Tokyo Law School, and is qualified to practice law in Japan and New York State. He is the author of a book "Introduction to AI Governance: From Risk Management to Social Design." (2023). He also serves as the Representative Director of Japan’s AI Governance Association, a Visiting Associate Professor at the University of Tokyo, a Non-Resident Fellow at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS).
Ms Lee Wan Sie is Cluster Director, AI Governance and Safety, at Singapore’s Infocomm Media Development Authority. Her responsibilities include driving Singapore’s approach to AI governance, growing the trustworthy AI ecosystem in Singapore and collaborating with governments around the world to further the development of safe and responsible AI. This includes developing AI regulatory policies and building capabilities through tools and frameworks.
Co-Hosts of the event
Google: There is significant potential for AI to benefit people, boost economies, advance science, and address humanity’s greatest challenges. Public policy plays an important role in unlocking AI’s potential and its beneficial outcomes. Google is keen to create opportunities to exchange perspectives on AI policies from our region, and hear how positive approaches can help APAC's communities realise AI’s promise.
AIVF: The Foundation aims to harness the collective power and contributions of the global open-source community to develop AI testing tools to enable responsible AI. The Foundation promotes best practices and standards for AI. The not-for-profit Foundation is a wholly owned subsidiary of the Infocommunications Media Development Authority of Singapore (IMDA).