RIKEN, in collaboration with Fujitsu and a number of Japanese research institute, has made a Japanese built quantum computer available through the cloud for researchers doing work on both basic research and applications for quantum computers. The system, which went online at the end of March, is based on superconducting semiconductor qubits.

The service is part of ongoing research around the world on technologies for handling quantum information, with the overarching goal to apply the basic principles of quantum mechanics to information science and information processing technologies such as computation, communication, and sensing. In particular, quantum computers are expected to make it possible to solve certain problems that are intractable on classical computers, but they will require new architectures and software algorithms to function effectively. The RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing was established in 2021 to research and develop quantum computers to perform quantum computations.

The newly developed superconducting quantum computer uses integrated circuits with 64 qubits with two special features: two-dimensional integrated circuits and perpendicular wiring packages. The goal of the cloud service is both to contribute to the development of human resources involved in domestic quantum information research at the R&D stage, and also to promote the development of domestic industries based on the field of information technology.

The group was led by the RIKEN Center for Quantum Computing, which was established in 2021 for research and development into quantum computers and computation. In addition to the RIKEN, the research group including researchers from Fujitsu, the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), Osaka University, and NTT.

To use the system, which is currently is limited to non-commercial research by Japanese institutes, scientists must have a joint research with RIKEN allowing them to perform research on the machine. Consideration is now being given to opening the system to users outside Japan and to relaxing the usage requirements. For more information, see the press release by Fujitsu:

For inquiries about usage of the system, please write to qcs_contact [at] ml.riken.jp.