Japan hunts AI talent as adoption accelerates

A number of major US companies have announced job cuts in favor of AI investment. But in Japan, big corporations are on the hunt for skilled workers to accelerate AI adoption. 

In a recent survey of roughly 250 publicly listed Japanese companies, Azusa Audit Corporation found that 28% were expanding their AI-literate workforce to support automation.

Despite its global reputation as a high tech powerhouse, AI adoption across the economy remains low.

Japan is still laying the groundwork for a competitive AI ecosystem. It’s a phase where AI is seen as ‘labor complementary’ and designed to maintain operational efficiency amid a chronic labor shortage.

The OECD reports that AI adoption in Japan in 2025 sits at 26.5% in finance and 14.5% in manufacturing. It’s drastically lower from the OECD’s seven-country average of 60.4% and 44.1%, respectively.  

Why is Japan hiring AI workers instead of cutting jobs?

AI is behind the layoffs at Amazon, Microsoft, Meta, and Oracle. In the first quarter of 2026, 92,000 tech workers around the world lost their jobs, according to Layoffs.fyi. 

However, Japanese companies are largely resisting full AI-led restructuring.

At the Japanese government’s AI Forum in April, Director of the AI Safety Institute, Akiko Murakami, pushed back against blind enthusiasm and blanket adoption. 

“It would be ideal if humans could review all payment related decisions,” she said. “The key is to streamline simpler operations as much as possible and prioritize human resources on more complex ones.”

A lack of top-down direction

Murakami argued that corporate strategy should drive AI adoption, rather than allowing the technology to dictate decisions. She warned that automated decision making in sectors like insurance could lead to potentially catastrophic financial losses.

“If you’re going to use AI, it comes down to having a clear intent. Without a defined intent for how the company wants to operate the AI, if you just adopt technology for its own sake, it can lead to major failure.”

Miku Hirano, CEO of AI consulting firm, Cinnamon AI, shared a similar view. She said the biggest obstacle among Japanese corporations is the absence of an AI strategy.

Speaking at Sushi Tech 2026 in Tokyo, Hirano said AI adoption does not necessarily equate to automatic success.

“Japanese businesses come to us thinking if we adopt AI, everything is going to be OK. But actually if you really want to make it a success, it’s not about the technology. You need to reorganize your entire operation, workflow and KPI.”

Shortage of AI skilled workers

Corporate spending on generative AI is set to surge. Japan’s AI market is slated to explode in market value from a current $20 billion to $538 billion by 2035, according to Japanese market research company, Report Ocean.

As companies navigate AI workflows, there’s growing demand for AI consultants, data managers and governance specialists.

In a January 2026 survey, Deloitte Tohmatsu Group found that roughly 50% of 1,000 Japanese executives asked candidates in job interviews about their hands-on AI experience.

Japan’s AI drive is a labor intensive operation. Miku Hirano, CEO and Founder of AI consulting firm, Cinnamon AI, said AI applications are evolving at an unprecedented speed which requires constant updates to corporate strategy.

“Previously, we updated our corporate AI strategy and plan every year, but now we review it every quarter.”

While organizations can tailor AI systems to their own needs, the software and AI applications require ongoing maintenance, almost on a weekly basis.

As a result, the Japanese government projects an estimated 3.4 million shortage of AI and robot-specializing workers by 2040.

Does survival in the AI era depend on trust? 

In the era of automation, executives will be responsible for setting a company’s tolerance for AI risk and the speed and scale of AI adoption.

As AI moves from experimental use to core business infrastructure, companies will need strong governance to be able to evaluate and verify AI decision making processes.

The future of AI in Japan will not be determined by how capable the technology becomes but whether companies can make it trustworthy.

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