Japan is facing a shortage of workers and an aging population. Many experts say this should make the country eager to adopt artificial intelligence. But new data shows Japanese businesses are moving much slower than other countries.
A report from the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development found that just 8.4% of Japanese workers use AI as part of their job. That is far behind the United States, where 50% of workers use AI. The UK sits at 32%.
Singapore has one of the highest adoption rates in Asia. There, 56% of workers use AI multiple times a week.
Why Japan Is Slow to Adopt AI
Austin Xu runs a US AI startup called Kuse AI. He recently opened an office in Japan and says company culture is a major factor.
He says many Japanese firms have almost zero tolerance for mistakes made by AI. Some companies would rather leave a job position empty than let a machine handle it.
Xu compares this to the US, where businesses often let AI systems work first and get corrected later. He says Japanese companies want more proof before they trust the technology.
Parrisa Haghirian teaches international management at Kyoto University of Advanced Science. She agrees that Japanese firms are cautious about change in general, not just AI.
She says Japanese businesses currently use AI mostly for simple tasks like writing and summarizing documents. It is rarely used for major decisions or core business operations.
Japan's healthcare system shows this pattern clearly. One hospital worker said paper documents pile up at hospitals because many have not fully switched to digital patient records.
Government Steps In to Push AI Use
The Japanese government knows the country is falling behind. Lawmakers passed an AI Promotion Act last year to encourage companies to invest in the technology.
The goal is to make Japan a friendly place for AI development and use. Officials hope wider AI adoption will help fix the country's productivity problems.
Japan currently has the worst productivity level among G7 nations. The Ministry of Finance says 75% of Japanese companies now use AI in some form, up from just 11% five years ago.
Critics argue those numbers are misleading. They say only a small number of employees at each company actually use AI regularly.
Yasushi Ogasawara studies technology and social systems at Meiji University. He says Japan lacks enough workers with strong digital skills, even though many people enjoy using gadgets like smartphones.
A report released earlier this year found Japan could face a shortage of almost 800,000 IT workers by 2030. Around 60% of company computer systems in Japan are also more than 20 years old.
Ogasawara says the government talks about reskilling workers, but keeping people employed remains the top priority over automation.
Some larger companies are starting to change how they hire. Trading company Kanematsu is now looking for graduates with strong AI skills.
New employee Uta Yamaguchi says she uses AI often for writing emails, summarizing documents, and taking meeting notes. She says AI tools that can handle multi step tasks on their own are still rare in Japan compared to the US.
