- On October 30, 2026, Japan’s Digital Agency released survey results showing that civil servants using its generative AI platform, Gennai, save an average of 110 minutes of work per week.
- The online survey was conducted in August and September 2026, collecting 6,439 valid responses from employees across government ministries and agencies.
- More than 50% of respondents said AI helped them save at least one hour of work per week.
- Specifically, 35.1% saved 1 to 3 hours, 10.9% saved 3 to 5 hours, 5.2% saved 5 to 10 hours, and 3.2% saved 10 hours or more.
- Meanwhile, 34.6% reported that their working time had changed very little.
- AI helps civil servants draft documents more quickly, search through large volumes of materials, and access new specialist knowledge.
- In terms of usage frequency, 10.4% used Gennai almost daily, 11% used it 3 to 4 times a week, and 26.4% used it 1 to 2 times a week.
- A total of 31.2% of respondents said they rarely or had never used the platform.
- Gennai was developed and is operated by Japan’s Digital Agency, and is available to approximately 180,000 government employees.
- The platform has integrated AI agent capabilities, allowing it to autonomously perform two or more tasks simultaneously.
📌 Japan has provided quantitative evidence of the benefits of generative AI in the public sector, with an average reported time saving of 110 minutes per week based on 6,439 responses. However, these figures are self-reported survey results rather than an independent productivity assessment covering all 180,000 eligible users. With 31.2% of respondents rarely or never using Gennai, expanding adoption and measuring its actual impact remain important priorities.
