Today, May 26, 2026, marks a momentous occasion in the world of scientific computing. Fujitsu, a global leader in information and communication technology, has been awarded Japan's highly coveted Prime Minister's Prize at the 2026 National Commendation for Invention. This prestigious recognition celebrates Fujitsu's groundbreaking invention for enhancing the performance of scientific and technical computing, a technology that has already made a profound impact on industries and research worldwide. [2]
The award underscores Fujitsu's unwavering commitment to pushing the boundaries of computational science, propelling advancements that address some of humanity's most complex challenges, from climate change and disaster prevention to medical breakthroughs and advanced manufacturing. This blog post delves into the specifics of the award-winning technology, its widespread applications, and Fujitsu's broader leadership in the evolving landscape of high-performance computing (HPC) and quantum innovation.
The National Commendation for Invention, presented annually by the Japan Institute of Invention and Innovation (JIII), is one of Japan's most significant honors, recognizing inventions that contribute remarkably to the nation's scientific and industrial progress. The Prime Minister's Prize, the highest award within this commendation, was bestowed upon Fujitsu for its "Invention of performance improvement of processing unit for scientific and technical calculations."
Leading this monumental achievement is Mikio Hondou of Fujitsu Limited, who received the Prime Minister's Prize. Additionally, Takahito Tokita, CEO of Fujitsu Limited, was honored with the Distinguished Service Prize for Employment of Invention, acknowledging the pivotal role of leadership in fostering such transformative innovation. [2]
This award-winning invention, originally developed by Fujitsu in 2009 and granted Patent No. 5304483 in 2013, is a testament to long-term vision and persistent research. [2]
At its core, Fujitsu's acclaimed invention is a fundamental breakthrough in processor design, enabling high-speed and high-precision scientific computing. The technology's ingenuity lies in its ability to significantly optimize the processing of mathematical functions crucial for complex scientific calculations. [2]
Specifically, the invention reduces the number of instructions required for preprocessing the Taylor series expansion to one-third of its previous requirement. The Taylor series expansion is a critical mathematical method used to calculate various functions, including trigonometric (like sine and cosine), exponential, and logarithmic functions, which are ubiquitous in scientific and engineering simulations. By defining special instructions, Fujitsu successfully accelerated these computations while diligently minimizing any increase in circuit scale. This delicate balance ensures that both the speed and accuracy of calculations are meticulously maintained, a crucial factor for reliable scientific discovery. [2]
- High-Speed Processing: Accelerates the execution of complex mathematical functions.
- Enhanced Precision: Maintains accuracy in calculations, vital for scientific integrity.
- Optimized Architecture: Achieves speed improvements with minimal increase in circuit scale.
- Foundational Impact: Improves the efficiency of fundamental arithmetic operations underlying most scientific simulations.
The impact of this groundbreaking invention extends across Fujitsu's most iconic computing platforms and is set to shape future innovations.
This technology has already played a significant role in powering the K computer, Japan's first petascale supercomputer, and its successor, the supercomputer Fugaku. Both systems, jointly developed by Fujitsu and RIKEN, have utilized this invention to achieve their remarkable computational feats. [2]
Fugaku, in particular, has been a beacon of Fujitsu's HPC prowess. Housed at the RIKEN Center for Computational Science (R-CCS) in Kobe, Japan, Fugaku was designed to be the world's first exascale supercomputer, taking its name from an alternative reading of Mount Fuji, symbolizing both its peak performance and broad applicability. [4]
At the heart of Fugaku is the innovative Fujitsu A64FX Arm processor. This processor, compliant with Aarch64 specifications, features 7nm process technology, on-package integrated HBM2 memory, terabyte-class Scalable Vector Extension (SVE) streaming capabilities, and an on-die embedded TOFU-D high-performance network. [5] Comprising 158,974 A64FX CPUs, Fugaku achieved a staggering 442 petaFLOPS, earning it the top spot in the TOP500, HPCG, HPL-AI, and Graph500 supercomputer rankings in June 2020, a position it held for three consecutive terms. [7]
Fugaku's immense power, roughly 20 million times that of a smartphone, has been instrumental in tackling real-world problems.
- COVID-19 Research: During the pandemic, Fugaku was deployed for crucial research, identifying potential drug candidates from over 2,000 existing medications in just 10 days—a task that would typically take a conventional supercomputer a year. It also simulated virus dispersal and evaluated mask effectiveness, directly influencing public health guidelines. [4]
- Disaster Prevention: The supercomputer excels in simulations for global environmental predictions, earthquakes, and tsunamis, contributing to early warning systems and mitigation strategies.
- Industrial Design: It enables high-fidelity structural, collision, and fluid analysis simulations critical for designing automobiles, aircraft, and other complex machinery, significantly reducing the need for physical prototyping.
- Materials Science & Energy: Fugaku supports research into next-generation solar cells, offshore wind power generation, and the development of new functional materials.
The award-winning technology has also been integrated into Arm®-based server products and is now a standard feature in the instruction set architecture designed and licensed by Arm, a leading compute platform company. This widespread adoption signifies the fundamental nature and broad utility of Fujitsu's innovation across the computing ecosystem. [2]
Looking ahead, this core technology is slated for incorporation into "FUJITSU-MONAKA," Fujitsu's next-generation Arm-based processor for data centers, scheduled for launch in 2027. Even more excitingly, it will power "FUJITSU-MONAKA-X," the CPU at the heart of "FugakuNEXT," the eagerly anticipated successor to Fugaku, currently under development by Fujitsu in collaboration with RIKEN and other organizations.
Fujitsu's vision for computing extends beyond traditional supercomputing, encompassing a holistic approach that integrates High-Performance Computing, Artificial Intelligence, and the burgeoning field of Quantum Computing.
Recognizing the growing demand for accessible, scalable computing power, Fujitsu offers "Fujitsu Cloud Service HPC." This service provides optimized computing environments for HPC applications, leveraging the technology of the Fujitsu Supercomputer PRIMEHPC FX1000 (which is based on Fugaku's architecture), along with high-performance CPUs from Intel and GPUs from NVIDIA. This enables users across various industries to tap into advanced computing capabilities on-demand, fostering digital transformation without significant upfront investment. [13]
The global HPC market is experiencing robust growth, driven significantly by the rising need for processing power in complex simulations and the accelerating adoption of AI and machine learning. The market, valued at approximately USD 59.14 billion in 2025, is projected to reach USD 134.95 billion by 2035, growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 8.6%. [16]
Modern HPC systems are increasingly defined not just by raw FLOPS but by factors like time-to-solution, sustained performance, energy efficiency, scalability, and their ability to support mixed workloads encompassing both AI and simulation. By late 2024, 78% of organizations reported active AI usage, further fueling demand for HPC systems capable of handling large-scale model training and inference.
Fujitsu is at the forefront of this convergence, leveraging Fugaku's technology to provide innovative solutions across AI and data analysis, with a focus on optimizing GPU utilization for AI processing and advancing materials informatics for AI-driven materials development.
Fujitsu is also a major player in quantum computing, dedicated to global R&D and accelerating real-world adoption. Their strategic investments include:
- 256-Qubit Superconducting Quantum Computer: In April 2025, Fujitsu, in joint development with RIKEN, unveiled a world-leading 256-qubit superconducting quantum computer, made available to companies and research institutions since the first quarter of fiscal 2025.
- 1,000-Qubit Development: A 1,000-qubit superconducting quantum computer is currently under development, with installation scheduled for 2026.
- Long-Term Vision: Fujitsu aims for a large-scale superconducting quantum computer exceeding 10,000 qubits by fiscal 2030 and a 1,000 logical qubit machine by fiscal 2035, exploring both superconducting and diamond spin-based qubits.
- Quantum Gate Precision: In March 2025, they achieved the world's first high-precision quantum gate operation with an error probability below 0.1% using the diamond spin approach, a crucial step toward scalable quantum computing.
- Digital Annealer: Complementing their quantum hardware efforts, Fujitsu offers its quantum-inspired Digital Annealer technology, which specializes in solving complex combinatorial optimization problems, already delivering practical benefits today.
These quantum advancements promise to revolutionize fields such as financial modeling, drug discovery, and machine learning, solving problems currently intractable for even the most powerful classical supercomputers.
Fujitsu's receipt of the Prime Minister's Prize today is not merely an acknowledgment of past achievements but a powerful indicator of the company's trajectory in shaping the future of scientific computing. As the world grapples with increasingly complex challenges—from climate modeling and personalized medicine to AI development and sustainable manufacturing—the demand for ever more powerful and efficient computational tools will only intensify. [18]
Fujitsu's continuous innovation, exemplified by this award-winning technology, the prowess of Fugaku, and ambitious quantum computing roadmap, positions it at the vanguard of this evolution. Their commitment to open architecture (Arm-based processors), cloud accessibility, and the fusion of HPC with AI and quantum paradigms ensures that their technologies will continue to drive scientific discovery and industrial progress for decades to come. The emphasis on sustainability as a non-negotiable design constraint in future HPC platforms also highlights a responsible approach to technological advancement. [18]
This recognition serves as an inspiration, reminding us that continuous innovation in the fundamental building blocks of computing holds the key to unlocking solutions for a more sustainable, resilient, and intelligent future.
Disclaimer: All factual claims in this blog post are grounded in information available from the referenced search results as of May 26, 2026.
- global.fujitsu
- acnnewswire.com
- ieee.org
- amazon.com
- arm.com
- wikipedia.org
- global.fujitsu
- japan-forward.com
Featured image by Markus Winkler on Pexels
