Japan's Companies Trail in AI: Reuters Poll Finds Most Use It Only in Limited Ways

Japan's Companies Trail in AI: Reuters Poll Finds Most Use It Only in Limited Ways — Yet None Plan to Cut Spending

More than 80% of Japanese companies use artificial intelligence only in limited ways or not at all, a Reuters poll found — a trend that could hinder government efforts to boost productivity. Only 16% have deployed AI company-wide, nobody plans to cut AI budgets, and 82% favor domestic over overseas investment.

Key Takeaways

More than 80% of Japanese companies use artificial intelligence only in limited ways or not at all, a Reuters poll found — a trend that could hinder government efforts to boost productivity.
Only 16% have deployed AI company-wide, nobody plans to cut AI budgets, and 82% favor domestic over overseas investment.

AI synthesis3 sources8

More than 80% of Japanese companies use artificial intelligence only in a limited capacity — or not at all — a Reuters survey showed, a trend that could hinder official efforts to boost productivity.

About 60% of respondents said AI is being used only in some parts of their companies or in other limited ways. Another 18% said they have not decided whether to introduce AI into the workplace, while 6% are not even considering it. Only 16% have deployed AI company-wide as an integral tool. "We have started using it company-wide, but its use is limited to tasks such as document creation," a manager at a wholesaler wrote. A real estate firm official admitted: "We don't know how to put it in use."

A government report this year showed Japan lagging other industrial powers in AI adoption, with 86.4% of local firms using generative AI for at least one task, compared with China's 98.1%, Germany's 91.6% and the United States' 90.9%.

Asked about their AI budgets for the next one to two years, 4% expect annual growth of 50% or more, 21% expect growth between 10% and 50%, and 30% project single-digit expansion. Another 14% expect budgets to remain largely unchanged, while 31% have not decided yet. None of the respondents said they will be spending less on AI. The poll was conducted by Nikkei Research for Reuters from July 29 to August 6, with 219 of 510 contacted companies responding anonymously.

On resource allocation, 82% of respondents favored domestic investment over overseas investment — a preference aligned with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's growth strategy, which vows to end "excessive austerity" and boost domestic investment in areas such as AI, semiconductors and quantum technology. "We already have our major production facilities concentrated in Japan... Given the continued weakness of the yen, we see little merit in investing overseas," an official at a machinery maker said. 41% of respondents plan to increase domestic investment in the business year to March 2027, while just 9% expect a decline.