The University of Oxford has been appointed to co-lead one of the three flagship projects of a program of science and technology collaboration between the UK and Japan. This was announced by UK Prime Minister Keir Starmer and Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi during Starmer’s visit to Japan on 31st January. The projects will pursue the development of quantum technology in computing.
“Distributed and secure quantum computation”, a project led by Oxford’s Professor David Lucas and the University of Tokyo’s Professor Mio Murao, addresses the challenge of moving beyond isolated laboratory experiments towards large-scale, interconnected quantum systems. The project aims to “build the foundations of a quantum internet”.
Funded by the UK’s Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), the new quantum projects have received a total of £9.2 million. The EPSRC contributed £4.5 million, and the JST provided £5.2 million.
There will also be a project focused on “massive scaling of semiconductor quantum-dot technologies”, co-led by Dr Masaya Kataoka of the National Physical Laboratory in the UK and Professor Tetsuo Kodera of the Institute of Science Tokyo. Another initiative will work on “quantum control and sensing”, co-led by Professor Janet Anders of the University of Exeter and Professor Masahito Ueda of the University of Tokyo.
The main aim of Oxford’s project is to integrate advanced hardware with privacy-preserving protocols, enabling ultra-secure communication and faster scientific discovery, while training future specialists to strengthen global quantum networks over the next five years.
Professor Lucas is an experimental atomic physicist working in the field of trapped-ion quantum computing. This approach to computing uses charged atomic particles, or ions, as physical qubits, the fundamental unit of information in quantum computing, trapped in electromagnetic fields. Professor Murao’s Japanese team will contribute complementary knowledge of quantum communication theory, ion-trap hardware, and advanced manufacturing.
In a press release, Professor Lucas said: “Similar to how the internet connects classical computers, future quantum advances depend on networking quantum processors together. This presents profound scientific and engineering challenges, particularly in ensuring these networks are scalable, secure, verifiable, and integrated.
“By fostering deep integration between leading UK and Japanese teams and their respective programmes, we aim to create a coherent, full-stack architecture and deliver concrete integration outcomes that amplify the value of current national efforts, rather than duplicating foundational developments.”
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