Fugakuと日本の未来
Hello everyone, SCIENSPOT is a podcast that shines a spotlight on the latest scientific
technology from Japan. Your host is REN from SCIEN-TALK. Today I am gonna talking about
Fugaku, Japan's flagship supercomputer, a machine that has truly reshaped high-performance
computing, or HPC, and its role in society. Fugaku isn't just a power machine, it's
a culmination of Japan's strategic vision, building on the legacy of its predecessor,
the K-computer, and paving the way for the next generation. This is not just about raw
speed, it's about solving real-world problems and creating a society 5.0, a super-smart
society where the cyber and physical spaces are highly integrated to balance economic
development and society problem solving. The project began in 2014, led by the Ministry
of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology as a national project. RIKEN Center
for Computational Science and Fujitsu were chosen as key partners. A unique aspect of
its development was the co-design approach. This means that hardware engineers designing
the supercomputer and application developers worked hand-in-hand from the very beginning.
フガクの進化と技術
This wasn't just about hitting benchmarks, but about ensuring maximum performance for
crucial real-world applications in areas like drug discovery and disaster prevention. The
project progressed smoothly with the design phase concluding by 2018, hardware manufacturing
starting in 2019, and the full system installation completed by 2020. Its official name, Fugaku,
was decided around this time. It began formal operation in March 2021.
So now, for its groundbreaking technology, Fugaku marked a significant shift from its
predecessor, the K-computer. While the K-computer used Fujitsu's proprietary Spark processor,
Fugaku moved to the ARM architecture. This was a strategic move to embrace a wider software
ecosystem and improve power efficiency, which is crucial for maintaining supercomputers.
The ARM architecture developed by Ryosense by the UK's ARM is known for its excellent
power efficiency. Power efficiency was a key design goal. Using advanced process technology
and innovative packaging, Fugaku's impact has been immense, both in terms of raw power
and real-world applications. In global ranking, Fugaku proved its metal-axis-multiple-metrics.
Fugakuの性能と競争
It secured four consecutive first-place finishes in the top 500 list from June 2020
to November 2021, showcasing its pure computational power. However, by the June 2025 ranking,
it moved to 7th place as a new exascale system, particularly from the US, enters the scene.
This doesn't mean Fugaku is obsolete, rather it signifies a new era of intense scale competition
in supercomputing.
But where Fugaku truly shines is in its practical performance. It has held the number one spot
in the HPCG ranking for 10 consecutive terms, which measures performance crucial for industrial
applications involving complex calculations like matrix operations. And for Graph500,
vital for big data analysis, especially for processing graph-structured data and exploring
relationships between data points, Fugaku has maintained its world-leading position
for 11 consecutive terms. This long-term strength highlights the effectiveness of its co-design
approach and optimizes software, proving that Fugaku's original philosophy of being
a practical system for social problem-solving was indeed correct.
Its contributions to society have been profound. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Fugaku performed
Fugaku Nextの進化
a highly precise simulation of droplet and aerosol spread. In disaster prevention, Fugaku
helped predict torrential rains in Komamoto in July 2020 with high accuracy by simulating
various fluid scenarios.
Looking ahead, Japan's supercomputer strategy continues to evolve with Fugaku Next. The
next-generation system aims to boost computing power by 5 to 10 times, especially for AI applications.
It's designed as an AI HPC platform, merging traditional simulation with AI to accelerate
research in areas like drug development, climate change, and new material design.
Significantly, the development of Fugaku Next marks a shift from purely domestic development
to international collaboration. For the first time, U.S. semiconductor giant NVIDIA is participating
as a core development partner alongside RIKEN and Fujitsu. This move signals Japan's clear
intent to stay competitive in the global exascale and hybrid architecture race, where countries
like the U.S. and China are also pushing boundaries. The collaboration is expected to involve joint
design and algorithm development from the basic stages.
ファーガクの成功と今後の展望
In conclusion, Fugaku's success is not just about achieving world-class performance. It's
about proving the value of practically and social contribution in supercomputing.
With Fugaku Next, Japan's strategy has become more sophisticated, embracing AI integration
and international cooperation to fuse its strengths with leading global technologies.
By doing so, Japan aims to sustain its scientific and industrial competitiveness and continue
to open new doors for the future.
That's all for today's SciencePod. This podcast is broadcast on weekday morning in both Japanese
and English. I'd love for you to listen to the podcast and post your notes with the hashtag
SciencePod. Thank you for listening and see you next time.
