Japan has substantial AI potential.
According to the Tortoise Global AI Index, Japan ranks 11th out of 83 countries on potential for AI. On infrastructure for AI, which measures the capacity and scale of computational resources needed, it performs particularly well, ranking among the top 5 countries globally. For example, Japan’s National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science (AIST) built the world’s first large-scale Open AI supercomputer for publicly accessible infrastructure for AI research. However, to fully unlock the AI opportunity, Japan will need to accelerate AI adoption across the population.
Tortoise global AI index rankings.
Countries are ranked by their AI capacity across the following areas: talent, infrastructure, operating environment, research, development, government strategy, and commercial.
83 countries are included.
Ensure women, older and non-graduate citizens are not left behind.
Realising the full benefits of AI will require all parts of Japanese society to participate in the AI economy. As it stands, older Japanese workers and those without a university degree are less likely to be digitally engaged. While 98% of those aged 20-64 use the internet, the same share is just 61% for those aged 65 and above.37
This is similarly true of AI adoption patterns. In our polling, we found that the majority of current AI use was led by early adopters that are proactively experimenting with AI tools. However, usage was significantly lower among women, older workers and those without a university degree.
If we don’t work to reverse the gap in worker AI adoption, it could reduce the overall potential economic benefits from AI by 31%.
Share of the Japanese population reporting at least weekly usage of AI.
Give the public greater confidence in Generative AI tools.
The Japanese public are more likely to use AI tools if they are perceived as trustworthy and reliable. Given a cultural preference for lower risk and higher trust, all successful technologies that have been widely deployed in Japan have pursued a high trust and transparency approach. Over half (53%) of the public said they were worried about an increasing amount of misinformation online as a result of AI, the leading concern around increased AI use by a large margin.
believe there should be controls on the use of generative AI to ensure it is not used in a misleading way.
feel that we should ensure there are protections for content creators to ensure they are not harmed by generative Al.
agree that while new tools like generative AI can be powerful, they need to be developed in a responsible way.
Concerns around increased use of AI.
Support the Japanese population to upskill.
The main barriers preventing Japanese online adults from expanding their use of generative AI in their personal life.
Google is equipping Japan’s students and entrepreneurs with essential AI skills.
Google is opening doors to Japan’s AI future through two innovative programmes designed to build confidence and expertise for the next generation of workers and entrepreneurs. The newly-expanded Gemini Academy offers university students in the Asia-Pacific a practical five-part journey into AI fundamentals, covering everything from basic terminology to advanced topics like effective prompt writing and recognising bias and hallucinations. Available through Grow with Google and Japan Reskilling Consortium (led by Google), the curriculum gives students hands-on experience with real-world applications, preparing them to use AI responsibly and creatively in both studies and future careers.
Google is also supporting Japan’s long-standing tradition of entrepreneurial leadership through the launch of the Aichi Startup School in Nagoya. This program of 900 aspiring business founders and students offers expert-led workshops on startup essentials and how to make best use of cutting-edge Google technologies.38 Those completing five or more sessions receive official certification and Google Cloud credits, which can be used to pay for computing services to develop their future ventures. Moreover, Google’s new AI Academy is backing innovative startups across the Asia-Pacific region with personalised mentorship and up to JPY 53 million (USD 350,000) in Cloud credits.39 Through these complementary approaches, Google is helping Japan build both the skills and businesses needed to lead an AI-powered future.
Formal qualification programmes like ‘Google Prompting Essentials’ and ‘Google AI essentials’ are also available to everyone looking to upskill and be better prepared for the AI economy. Prompting Essentials is a short, self-paced course designed to teach a five-step framework for writing effective prompts, enabling users to get the most out of any AI tool. The Google AI Essentials programme, on the other hand, is a foundational course that introduces learners to basic AI concepts, its capabilities and limitations, and how to use it responsibly to boost productivity in various tasks. Google, as the lead organiser of the Japan Reskilling Consortium, has a track record of offering scholarships for both programmes through the consortium.
Improve tech infrastructure among Japanese SMEs to accelerate AI usage.
Realising the benefits of AI will also need continued investment in connectivity and data centre infrastructure to support demand. While Japan already has advanced tech manufacturing capabilities, its businesses and public sector bodies will need greater investment in foundational infrastructure to become a global AI leader.
To realise the potential of AI, Japanese SMEs in particular will need greater investment in foundational digital infrastructure that supports greater and smoother adoption of AI.40 Older and smaller businesses lack sufficient ‘intangible capital’ investment – like in software systems and emerging technologies. This acts as a drag on productivity – with estimates suggesting that overall national productivity levels could be 1.8 percentage points higher if the worst-performing SMEs could boost their productivity growth.41
Wider investment in AI technologies – and particularly cloud-based tools – will be essential to achieving the economic growth offered by AI.
Adoption rate of foundational digital technology by business size.
Source: JUAS, Corporate IT Trends Survey Report, 2021