The 2026 White Paper on Information and Communications published by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications provides a detailed vision of a future where humans and AI collaborate healthily, against the backdrop of the rapid spread and social penetration of generative AI.

Background and Main Themes of the White Paper Publication

On July 24, 2026, the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications published the 2026 edition of the “Current Status Report on Information and Communications” (Information and Communications White Paper). Since its first publication in 1973, this is the 54th edition. This white paper was published in the milestone year marking 150 years since the world’s first successful telephone call. The special theme is “The Multifaceted Impact of AI Advancement ~Toward Realizing a Digital Society Where Humans and AI Collaborate Healthily~.” As rapidly advancing generative AI brings major changes to our lives and work styles, there is growing expectation for improved efficiency in information gathering and ideation, as well as increased productivity. On the other hand, it is also pointed out that sufficient attention is needed regarding a wide range of risks, such as harsination (the output of plausible misinformation), high power consumption, security, and employment impacts. The white paper emphasizes the importance of pursuing “trustworthy AI” while managing these risks.

Economic Statistics and Overview of the ICT Market

Japan’s information and communications industry occupies an extremely important position as the foundation of the economy. In 2024, the nominal GDP of the information and communications industry will reach 71.7 trillion yen, accounting for about 11.5% of all industries. Information technology investment by private companies was estimated at 25.7 trillion yen at 2020 prices, with about 78% of that coming from software investments. Looking at the global AI market size, it is projected to expand to $244.2 billion by 2025 and $1.054 trillion by 2031. In particular, the generative AI market is experiencing remarkable growth, expected to reach $442.1 billion by 2031. Regarding internet usage in Japan, over 90% of all age groups from 13 to 69 are used, and about 70% are in their 70s, showing that digital utilization is spreading across all generations. Please refer to the diagram below.

[Current Status of AI Utilization] Usage trends both domestically and internationally and Japan’s rapid growth

Changes in individual generative AI usage rates

Although the rate of personal generative AI usage in Japan remains low compared to other countries, it has risen significantly over the past year. In the 2025 survey, 58.8% of respondents said they had used some form of generative AI service, more than doubling from 26.7% in 2024. However, this figure includes the 15–19 age group, who was newly added to the survey in fiscal 2025, and the usage rate for those aged 20 and over is 52.2%. About 30% of respondents said they use it “almost every day,” indicating that usage is becoming a part of daily life. While the main purpose of use is text generation, the use of services such as image and video generation remains at a low level compared to other countries.

Implementation and Utilization Areas in Companies

The use of AI in corporate activities is also advancing rapidly. The percentage of Japanese companies reporting that they use generative AI in their operations reached 86.4%, a significant increase from the previous year and narrowing the gap with other countries. Specifically, “assistance with preparing meeting minutes and emails” accounts for about 70% of the tasks, making the most of the application, and the tangible effects of implementation are also highly felt in this field. In contrast to U.S. companies that have experienced high effectiveness in research and product development, Japan is prioritizing the efficiency of administrative tasks. Additionally, the proportion of companies formulating policies for utilizing generative AI rose to 68.9%, a significant increase from 49.7% the previous year. In advanced cases, there is a growing movement to view AI not merely as a tool for efficiency, but as a means to accumulate individual expertise as an organizational asset.

[Significance to Society] Governance Toward ‘Trustworthy AI’

Thorough Implementation of Domestic and International Legal Systems and Risk Management

To support the healthy development of AI, Japan enacted the “Act on Promotion of Research, Development, and Utilization of Artificial Intelligence-Related Technologies” (AI Act) in May 2025, which fully came into effect in September of the same year. This law is based on human-centered principles, aiming to balance the promotion of innovation with risk management. The white paper explains the status of guidelines and system development to address AI-specific challenges such as the spread of misinformation, privacy violations, and copyright issues. Furthermore, given the current situation where AI is being misused in cyberattacks and the speed and scale of attacks have dramatically increased, strengthening security measures across both the public and private sectors has become an urgent task. The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is advancing the establishment of an “active evaluation platform” to assess AI reliability based on culture and customs.

Promotion of International Collaboration and the Hiroshima AI Process

Building AI governance cannot be completed by a single country; international collaboration is essential. Japan has led the ‘Hiroshima AI Process,’ launched as the G7 chair, and has been working to spread a human-centered, safe, and secure AI ecosystem. At the Friends Group meeting held in March 2026, support was gained from 66 countries and regions, and an action plan for realizing trusted AI was shared. Additionally, we are working to establish an international framework in collaboration with the OECD to realize the Free Circulation of Reliable Data (DFFT). Through these efforts, we aim to foster AI models aligned with Japanese values and secure leadership in international rule-making.

[Limitations and Challenges] Labor Market Transformation and Delayed Response

Anxiety about employment replacement and redefining skills

The spread of generative AI is causing significant anxiety in the labor market. According to a white paper survey, about 40.0% of Japanese people are concerned that their jobs will be replaced by AI and that they will lose their jobs. Additionally, about 2 out of 3 people, or 63.7%, responded that they must acquire new skills based on the premise of AI adoption, highlighting the need for a fundamental transformation in how work is done. Experts point out that AI should be reviewed not only as a cost-cutting tool but also as an “asset” enabling things humans have not been able to do before. However, while individuals strongly want to delegate simple and inefficient tasks to AI, there are also persistent concerns about the loss of creativity. Please refer to the diagram below.

Delays in corporate reskilling and redeployment policies

While individual awareness of crisis is rising, challenges remain in companies’ acceptance systems. According to the white paper’s survey, only 10.4% of companies that have taken steps to utilize AI responded that “policies for reskilling and reassigning personnel are clearly stated.” This is an extremely low level compared to other items such as “investment plans are being realized” (22.7%). Although the development of learning environments (39.9%) has progressed to some extent, detailed designs such as which roles employees will be transferred to after the work content changes are still behind. If things continue as they are, there is a risk that the burden of relearning will be passed on to individuals, highlighting the importance of public-private collaboration in designing the “destinations” for workers.

[Future Developments & Focus] A resilient digital infrastructure and an AI-driven nation

Strengthening communication infrastructure and ensuring strategic autonomy

To support the AI society, a resilient communication infrastructure that never stops is essential. The massive cloud outage that occurred in July 2026 demonstrated the magnitude of societal impact of excessive reliance on certain services. In response, the government is accelerating the expansion of domestic cloud usage in government cloud and is urgently securing “strategic autonomy” that does not depend on specific operators. We are also promoting the decentralization of submarine cable landing sites and the regional distribution of data centers through “watt-bit integration,” which integrates power and communications. Investment is also ramping up for the social implementation of next-generation Beyond 5G (6G) and all-optical networks (IOWN), which achieve low latency and power efficiency.

Realizing an AI-Driven Nation and Future Prospects

Future digital policy will shift from simply digitizing operations to building an “AI-driven nation” that fundamentally rethinks decision-making and operations based on AI. The Digital Administrative and Fiscal Reform Council will be reorganized into the ‘AI and Digital Reform Promotion Council,’ where cross-ministerial fundamental revisions of legal systems and guidelines will be implemented. Within the government, efforts are underway to roll out ‘Gennai,’ an environment that allows AI app creation even without specialized knowledge, across all government agencies, and to automate administrative procedures using AI agents. As the population declines, whether we can achieve ‘people-friendly digitalization’ so that no one is left behind will determine Japan’s future competitiveness and quality of life.

Reference Page

• [2026 White Paper on Information and Communications (Overview) – Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications] https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/001082851.pdf

• [Publication of the 2026 Edition of the Information and Communications White Paper – Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications] https://www.soumu.go.jp/main_content/001082850.pdf

• [Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications | Press Release | Publication of the 2026 ‘Current Status Report on Information and Communications’ (2026 White Paper on Information and Communications)https://www.soumu.go.jp/menu_news/s-news/01tsushin02_02000184.html

• [Priority Plan for the Formation of a Digital Society, Plan for Improvement of Public Basic Information Database, Basic Plan for Promotion of Public-Private Data Utilization] https://www.digital.go.jp/assets/contents/node/basic_page/field_ref_resources/5e66249e-7164-42cb-b70c-51988df966b4/4366ebf7/20260721_policies_priority-plan_outline_01.pdf

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