According to Accenture’s latest Pulse of Change survey, Japanese companies show strong intentions to increase AI investment, but fewer than 10% are seeing company-wide results. Although 78% of Japanese executives expect to increase AI investment over the next 12 months, only 57% of employees feel that their productivity has improved.
Japanese companies have a strong appetite for AI investment, but only 13% of executives said they had already achieved company-wide, sustained business results through the use of AI, below the global average. 48% said they were confident that their AI-related initiatives could be reported as quantified results, also below the global average.
At the employee level, 57% said AI had improved their productivity, well below the global average of 81%. The proportion who felt that their job satisfaction had improved was 48%, a substantial gap from the global average of 71%.
Regarding the need for reskilling, 50% said they would choose to learn new skills independently, highlighting the challenge of how companies should support reskilling. As many as 64% of executives said they were finding it difficult to attract and develop AI talent, making it an ongoing priority to secure the right people.
While 87% of executives believe that the nature of jobs for younger talent will change, only 60% intend to create new roles for younger talent, and 41% intend to increase hiring of younger talent, below the global average. Many respondents pointed to integrated organizational and talent transformation as the key to turning AI investment into results.