The mysterious American company Palantir is rapidly increasing its presence in Japan, and its ties with the Japanese government and the Japan Self-Defense Forces are reportedly being strengthened through developments including Peter Thiel's visit to Japan.
Palantir Technologies is attracting attention amid efforts to introduce AI into command of the Japan Self-Defense Forces, and it has been suggested that the company's software could become the core of information integration and analysis in Japan. The company's origins are said to trace back to Peter Thiel and co-founder Alexander Karp establishing it against a backdrop of demand for integrated intelligence following the 2001 terrorist attacks.
The company serves government and corporate customers, providing Foundry, platform software that integrates and analyzes data across sources. It has been described as applicable not only to large companies but also to information integration by government agencies, and Japanese companies including Sompo Japan, Komatsu and Fujitsu are reportedly among its customers.
The article discusses Thiel's visit to Japan and his courtesy call on Prime Minister Takaichi Sanae (高市早苗), suggesting that these may have been part of a strategy to market the company's software in Japan. It also presents the view that data-integration technology developed by North American intelligence agencies and private-sector companies could affect Japan's national security and industrial sectors.