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China-linked influence operators are increasingly using AI to craft more effective disinformation campaigns.
Japan’s Ministry of Defense recently released its 2026 Defense of Japan white paper, once again drawing attention to China’s rapid advances in artificial intelligence and their implications for the regional security environment. Yet the most immediate danger to Japan may not come from AI’s application to conventional military systems. Generative AI is also lowering the barriers for Chinese information operations targeting Japanese society.
In late 2025, Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae made comments in the Diet linking a Taiwan contingency to Japan’s own security. Since then, disinformation targeting Japanese political figures and domestic issues has grown – not only in volume but also in sophistication. Research by organizations including the Sasakawa Peace Foundation and OpenAI suggests that China-linked influence operators are increasingly using AI to adapt their activities to Japan’s online environment and improve the efficiency of their operations.
AI is beginning to erode what was once one of the most obvious weaknesses of Chinese information operations against Japan: the linguistic and cultural barrier. Content that once featured grammatical mistakes, awkward translations and unnatural expressions is becoming harder for ordinary users to identify at a glance.
