Japan's AI Uptake Stalls Amid Cautious Corporate Culture

Japan lags in workplace AI adoption despite labour shortages and productivity pressures, due to risk-averse, consensus-driven corporate culture, fear of AI mistakes and reputational risk, and underdeveloped IT systems and digital literacy. OECD data shows only 8.4% of Japanese workers use AI versus about 50% in the US and 32% in the UK. The government has passed an AI Promotion Act to spur uptake, while some firms hire AI-literate graduates and pilot autonomous tools; healthcare remains slow to digitise and multi-step AI use remains rare.