MEGURI2040: Japan's Fully Autonomous Ship Program

MEGURI2040 is the Fully Autonomous Ship Program launched by Japan's Nippon Foundation in February 2020 to address crew shortages and improve navigation safety. The program's goal is "practical implementation of fully autonomous navigation by 2025" at Level 4 automation — equivalent to self-driving cars — with "2040" in its name reflecting the Japanese shipping industry's longer-term horizon.

Stage 1 (2020–2022) was a technology demonstration phase: five consortia developed six test vessels, trialing autonomous navigation both in the heavily-trafficked Tokyo Bay and on long-distance routes lasting more than 12 continuous hours between January and March 2022 — the world's first demonstration of long-distance autonomous navigation for a large vessel through congested sea lanes.

Stage 2 (2023–2026) moved from demonstration to real commercial deployment across four vessels, all of which have since achieved Level 4-equivalent certification: the passenger ferry Olympia Dream Seto on a Seto Inland Sea island route (certified December 2025, the first passenger ferry in Japan to be certified); the newly built 700-TEU container ship GENBU on the Kobe–Tokyo corridor (certified January 2026 and entering commercial service on January 30, 2026 — the world's first Level 4 commercial cargo vessel in regular service); the Ro-Ro vessel Hokuren Maru No. 2 on the Kushiro–Hitachi route (certified February 2026); and the in-service 245-TEU container ship Mikage on the Kobe–Nagoya route (certified March 2026).

MEGURI2040's progress is closely watched across the global maritime industry, and connects directly to NavaLab-TH members who have interned and researched on MEGURI2040-affiliated projects in Japan.