Japanese financial institutions have received access to an advanced artificial intelligence system from OpenAI to bolster their defenses against cyber threats, according to Japan’s finance minister.
Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama announced Friday that select Japanese banks were granted access to OpenAI’s GPT-5.5 model following discussions with the American AI company’s leadership in Tokyo.
“This is a welcome development and a big step forward in strengthening Japanese financial institutions’ ability to defend against cyberattacks,” Katayama told reporters after meeting with Jason Kwon, OpenAI’s chief strategy officer.
The finance minister declined to identify which specific financial institutions would receive access to the technology.
According to reports from the Nikkei newspaper published Thursday, Japan’s three largest banking institutions – MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp and Mizuho Bank – are anticipated to receive access to OpenAI’s newest model. The advanced system is reportedly available exclusively to trusted partners and is considered comparable to competing technology from Anthropic’s Claude Mythos.
