Japanese companies are showing slow and cautious adoption of artificial intelligence (AI), despite facing acute labour shortages, an ageing population, and chronic productivity issues. Data from an Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) report from late last year indicates that just 8.4% of Japanese workers utilise AI in their roles.
This figure contrasts sharply with other nations, where 50% of US workers and 32% of UK workers reportedly use AI. Singapore, which is said to have the highest AI take-up in Asia, sees 56% of workers using AI multiple times a week.
Austin Xu, co-founder of US start-up Kuse AI, attributes this slow adoption to Japanese companies being conservative and risk-averse. He notes that some organisations would rather leave a role unfilled than allow a machine to handle it, particularly in client-facing tasks. Parrisa Haghirian, professor of international management at the Kyoto University of Advanced Science, agrees, highlighting that Japanese firms are highly sensitive to error, uncertainty, and reputational risk.
Consequently, generative AI in Japan is mainly used for low-risk tasks such as writing, summarising, or information gathering, rather than core operations or decision-making. Japan's healthcare sector is reportedly particularly slow, with some hospitals still relying on paper documents.
The Japanese government is aware of the issue and passed the AI Promotion Act last year, aiming to use light-touch regulation to encourage AI investment. The Ministry of Finance states that business AI adoption has increased substantially, with 75% of companies now using the technology, up from 11% five years ago. However, critics argue that only a small proportion of staff at these businesses are actually using AI, and to a limited extent.
Prof Yasushi Ogasawara of Meiji University points to a lack of tech-savvy individuals in the workforce and outdated computer systems in many companies. He also suggests that Japanese companies are under pressure to avoid fuelling unemployment, which can hinder AI development that might lead to job losses.