Digitalization and AI Adoption Subsidy 2026 (Normal Track) — 2nd Round

【1. Overview】The Digitalization and AI Adoption Subsidy 2026 (Normal Track) supports SMEs and small business operators in adopting IT tools (software, AI services, etc.) that improve productivity, in response to ongoing institutional changes such as work-style reform, expanded employee insurance coverage, wage increases and invoice system. The secretariat is operated by TOPPAN Inc., and applicants form a joint project body with registered IT Adoption Support Vendors who submit applications to the secretariat. 【2. Eligible Applicants】Japanese-registered SMEs and small business operators with headquarters and project sites located in Japan are eligible. Eligible categories include manufacturing/construction/transport (capital ≤ JPY 300M or ≤ 300 employees), wholesale (≤ JPY 100M or ≤ 100 employees), services (≤ JPY 50M or ≤ 100 employees), retail (≤ JPY 50M or ≤ 50 employees), as well as medical corporations, social-welfare corporations, school corporations, chambers of commerce, cooperatives, foundations/associations and NPOs. Excluded entities include adult-entertainment businesses, religious corporations, informal groups, those with labor-law violation referrals within the past year, and those with average annual taxable income exceeding JPY 1.5 billion. 【3. Eligible Expenses】Costs of IT tools provided by IT Adoption Support Vendors and pre-registered with the secretariat are eligible, divided into Category I (software; cloud-usage fees up to 2 years), Category II (options: feature extensions, data linkage, security), and Category III (services: introduction consulting, setup, manuals, training, maintenance support — capped at JPY 2M). The selected tool must cover at least one process from Common-P-01 through Industry-P-06 (at least 4 processes if applying for JPY 1.5M–4.5M). 【4. Subsidy Rate, Cap, Schedule, Application Points】For subsidy amount JPY 50,000 to under 1,500,000: rate up to 1/2 (≥ 1 process). For JPY 1.5M–4.5M: rate up to 1/2 (≥ 4 processes). Rate rises to 2/3 if minimum-wage-adjacent employees ≥ 30% of total for ≥ 3 months. Application period starts 2026-03-30 (rolling deadlines announced on the official site); implementation/reporting period is about 6 months from grant decision. Mandatory prerequisites include obtaining gBizID Prime, declaring SECURITY ACTION (★ or ★★), formulating a wage-increase plan, and achieving labor-productivity growth targets (≥ 3% in year 1; ≥ 3% annual average).