Japan releases first domestically produced quantum computer

Japan has the first domestically produced quantum computer, developed by the Riken research institute, which was released online on March 27 to allow joint researchers to access it.

The release of the domestically produced computer is not a goal, but a milestone, said Yasunobu Nakamura, director of the Riken CenterRiken Center for Quantum Computing in Wako, Saitama Prefecture.

The race has just begun, he added.

There are many challenges to overcome before using the quantum computer, considered to be the next generation of computers, into practical use, but it has the potential to change society.

The international competition to develop quantum computers is intensifying in hopes of gaining an economic advantage and stronger national security.

In order to perform calculations, quantum computers use quantum mechanics, an area of physics that describes the behaviors of micro particles such as electrons and atoms.

As a quantum computer can perform multiple calculations at once, it can sometimes solve problems that a supercomputer can't solve, even if it spends tens of thousands of years or hundreds of millions of years.

The advancement of quantum computers is expected to advance research in fields that require complex calculations, such as developing new materials and medicine, finance and artificial intelligence.

A quantum computer will make it easier to decipher current encryptions used in the internet and finance.

As the technology develops, there is concern that a quantum computer could be used to decode national security secrets as well. Countries such as the United States and China view this as a security issue and are heavily investing in developing the technology.

There are different ways to create quantum computers, but Japan's domestic computer uses the superconducting method. The quantum bit, the core component of a quantum computer, is made of superconducting materials and cooled to extremely low temperatures.

Google and International Business Machines Corp. are working on developing computers using the same method.

In 2040 and after, the Japanese government hopes to have a quantum computer that can be used widely in practical applications, but it is said that about 1 million quantum bits would be needed to create it.

Practical use is now a long way off because only dozens to hundreds of quantum bits are used in quantum computers that have so far been created in the world.

Some predictions suggest that a quantum computer could produce values of more than 100 trillion yen $765 billion within 15 to 30 years.

Japan is at the beginning of the development race with its domestically produced quantum computer.