Riyadh and Tokyo are moving closer on smart city development. Riyadh Region Mayor Prince Faisal bin Abdulaziz bin Ayyaf held virtual talks with Tokyo Governor Yuriko Koike, with officials from both sides joining to map out how the two capitals can work together on digital transformation and urban innovation.
The conversation centered on artificial intelligence, data-driven municipal services, and how digital tools are reshaping city management. Both sides walked through the practical opportunities and the real challenges that come with digitizing public services at city scale, from efficiency gains in day-to-day operations to the harder question of building systems that hold up over time.
Riyadh and Tokyo also discussed exchanging technical expertise directly, drawing on international best practices already tested in Tokyo’s municipal systems to sharpen how Riyadh approaches quality of life, service delivery, and city operations powered by advanced technology.
Prince Faisal and Koike agreed to keep their teams in ongoing contact and to keep identifying concrete opportunities to deepen the relationship between the two cities, positioning this as an open channel rather than a one-off meeting.
The talks build on a broader run of Japan-Saudi engagement this year, including recent discussions on business opportunities between Japan and Saudi Arabia in Riyadh, suggesting the smart city track is one piece of a wider push to tighten ties between the two countries.
It also fits a pattern SFT has tracked closely this year: Saudi Arabia’s tech ecosystem is being built as much through international alliances and knowledge-sharing as through domestic investment, with AI and data infrastructure sitting at the center of that strategy.
