# IMS Unveils Japan's First Full-stack Neutral-atom Quantum Computer "Shunkai," Now Operational

- Link: https://www.thailand-business-news.com/pr-news/ims-unveils-japans-first-full-stack-neutral-atom-quantum-computer-shunkai-now-operational
- Published: 2026-08-25T14:00:00+07:00
- Author: PR Newswire

OKAZAKI, Japan, Aug. 25, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Institute for Molecular Science (hereinafter"
IMS"), National Institutes of Natural Sciences, announced on August 24 that Japan’s
first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer "Shunkai," developed by a research
team led by Professor Kenji Ohmori, is now operational.

Quantum computers are being developed in various modalities worldwide. However, 
there remain challenges to address for their practical applications, such as scalability
and error correction during computation.

Anticipated to overcome those challenges, neutral-atom quantum computing has been
rapidly attracting attention from industry, academia and government worldwide as
a groundbreaking new modality. Neutral-atom quantum computing uses a single atom
as a qubit (*1) and has exceptional features, including:
– Room-temperature operation
without the need for a refrigerator.– Achieve quantum entanglement (*2) (the source
of quantum speedup) between arbitrary qubits by moving the atoms (qubits) during
computations.– Flexibly optimize qubit configuration for each algorithm.– Relatively
easy to increase the number of qubits.– Long lifetime of quantum information in 
each qubit.

At the IMS, Professor Ohmori is the project manager leading the neutral-atom quantum
computing research and development team for the project "Large-scale and high-coherence
fault-tolerant quantum computer with dynamical atom arrays" under the Cabinet Office/
JST Moonshot Research and Development Program Goal 6, "Realization of a fault-tolerant
universal quantum computer." Aiming at practical quantum computers, the team has
developed Japan’s first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer named Shunkai (
see Fig. 1).

A "full-stack" system, as shown in Fig. 2, refers to a system that integrates multiple
layers (stacks) necessary for converting user inputs into drive signals for the 
computing device to execute computational output as its result. Personal computers
and supercomputers are examples of full-stack systems. Inside Shunkai, atomic qubits
are captured in an array using "optical tweezers (*3)" generated by tightly focusing
laser light with an objective lens. Quantum calculations are performed by irradiating
the atoms with microwaves or laser light. The computational results are interpreted
by observing the fluorescence from each individual atom with a camera. The IMS has
taken the lead in developing this full-stack quantum computer, leveraging a strong
industry-academia collaboration within the Ohmori Moonshot Project with Hitachi,
Ltd. for the software stack and with Infleqtion, Inc. for the Quantum Processing
Unit (QPU) stack.

Shunkai will use approximately 50 qubits in its early stage, and will expand its
scale to approximately 500 qubits. The system will be partially open to external
users for the development of its applications and the demonstration and improvement
of quantum error correction (*4). Plans also include collaboration with Yaqumo Inc.,
where Professor Ohmori serves as a founder and executive advisor, from the viewpoint
of the social implementation and upgrade of the quantum computer.

Future Developments
In the second stage of the Ohmori Moonshot Project "Neutral 
atom-based fault-tolerant quantum computer" that just started in April 2026, the
team will operate this full-stack quantum computer to further develop and improve
the integration and control technologies, upgrade the system toward fault tolerance
and larger scales, and enable high stability and high-fidelity quantum computation
for extended periods of time. By March 2031, at the end of the second stage, the
goal is to realize a large-scale, high-performance neutral-atom fault-tolerant quantum
computer, with 10,000 physical qubits and quantum error detection and correction
capabilities, available to external users.

Message from Professor Kenji Ohmori, Institute for Molecular Science:
"Neutral atom-
based quantum computers have recently been rapidly attracting attention around the
world as a new modality that could exceed the limits of the superconducting modality,
which started its development earlier. I think it is extremely significant that 
now we have developed Japan’s first full-stack quantum computer in this cutting-
edge modality and started its operation. We expect that the external use of our 
full-stack machine Shunkai, for example, by the theory and software researchers 
for the development of error-correction technologies, and by the corporate researchers
toward practical applications would lead to ripple effects on various fields in 
industry, academia and government around the world. It is also expected that Shunkai
will be integrated with the existing shared supercomputer facility at the IMS to
develop into a quantum-GPU hybrid computing center."

About Shunkai
It is named after Harumi Shibukawa, where his given name "Harumi" 
is also pronounced as Shunkai, an Edo-period (1603-1867) astronomer who established
the first original calendar system in Japan. Calculations of celestial motion on
the celestial sphere evoke the precise control of quantum states on the "Bloch sphere,"
which represents the state of a qubit in the physics expert community. With the 
highest respect to Shibukawa who developed Japan’s first indigenous calendar based
on precise calculations, this system Shunkai has been named in the hope that Japan’s
first full-stack neutral-atom quantum computer will perform precise quantum computations.(
Takafumi Tomita, Assistant Professor, Institute for Molecular Science, National 
Institutes of Natural Sciences)

Glossary
(*1) Qubit: The basic unit of information in a quantum computer. Unlike
conventional bits, which can only take on either "0" or "1," a quantum bit can simultaneously
represent both "0" and "1" states through quantum mechanical "superposition."

(*2) Quantum entanglement: A phenomenon unique to quantum mechanics where two or
more particles (quanta) maintain a strong correlation with each other, even at distances,
and the observation result of one instantly determines the state of the other.

(*3) Optical tweezer: A technique that uses laser light to capture particles such
as atoms or dielectric particles near the focal point.

(*4) Quantum error correction: A technique for correcting calculation errors caused
by the imperfection of manipulations and influence of the surrounding environment
on quantum bits during the calculation process. Because quantum states are extremely
fragile and easily broken, this technique is essential for quantum computers.

Research funding: [https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202604237994-O11-DaDJ5C71.pdf](https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202604237994-O11-DaDJ5C71.pdf)

Photo/Figure: [https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202604237994-O10-e1L56Rhq.pdf](https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202604237994-O10-e1L56Rhq.pdf)
Related links: [https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202604237994-O9-QN8TFY9J.pdf](https://kyodonewsprwire.jp/attach/202604237994-O9-QN8TFY9J.pdf)

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