Japan
OECD
25%
7/28
AI Gap Index
2/10
Schools
2/8
Workforce
2/6
Governance
1/4
Access
Schools 2/10
D1 AI literacy curriculum exists in schools 1 MEXT issued school guidelines emphasising AI education; Japan's Basic Plan on AI (December 2025) commits to integrating AI education from elementary to postgraduate level, backed by approximately ¥1 trillion over five years from fiscal 2026. [1]
D2 Curriculum is binding law or mandate 0
D3 Ethics component included in curriculum 1 AI Promotion Act Section 14 explicitly requires AI business actors to provide education on 'knowledge, literacy and ethics' of AI — ethics is named alongside literacy as a statutory expectation. [1]
D4 Teacher training mandated and funded before rollout 0
D5 Dedicated funding attached to the requirement 0
Workforce 2/8
D6 Employers legally required to train all employees 1 AI Promotion Act Section 14 creates a statutory expectation that AI business actors educate all staff dealing with AI on knowledge, literacy, and ethics — framed as a responsibility but without penalties for non-compliance. [1]
D7 Training must cover ethics and critical evaluation 1 The Act's education provision explicitly names ethics alongside literacy, and MEXT school guidelines include critical evaluation of AI's societal implications. [1]
D8 Pre-redundancy training obligation exists 0
D9 Workers have rights when AI used in employment decisions 0
Civil Service & Governance 2/6
D10 Civil servants working with AI must receive training 1 The Cabinet Office AI Strategy Council coordinates national AI policy across ministries — an advisory and coordination body rather than an independent regulator with enforcement powers over AI systems. [1]
D11 Minimum training standard is defined 1 PM Takaichi directed 100,000+ civil servants to use the Gennai AI platform across 39 ministries by May 2026 — a government mandate for civil servant AI adoption implying structured onboarding, though no formal minimum training standard or competency assessment is defined. [2], [3]
D12 Enforcement mechanism exists with named authority 0
Public Access 1/4
D13 Free or publicly funded AI literacy resources available 1 The Basic Plan on AI commits public funds for AI literacy programs targeting the general population, and the AI Promotion Act mandates government action to promote public understanding of AI. [1]
D14 Digital infrastructure support for schools and institutions 0
Subregion map
Coloured regions are scored. Grey = no data yet. Click a region to open its profile.
Regions & states
Subregions inherit supranational obligations from their parent country but may have additional local policy. Scores reflect local policy only.
Region
Schools /10
Workforce /8
Governance /6
Access /4
Total
Tokyo
2
0
0
2
4 14%
Aichi
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Chiba
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Fukuoka
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Hyogo
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Kanagawa
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Osaka
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Saitama
2
0
0
0
2 7%
Index history
May 20, 2026 7/28 Dim 11 added: PM directive mandating 100,000+ civil servants use Gennai AI platform across 39 ministries by May 2026 (structured government AI adoption requirement). Cross-ministerial reskilling council established for AI and semiconductor workers (May 2026) reinforces dim 10.
March 25, 2026 6/28 Initial scoring based on AI Promotion Act (June 2025) with workforce education expectations and ethics provisions, and Basic Plan on AI (December 2025) committing ¥1 trillion for education from elementary to postgraduate level.