Study Group to Examine the Digital Society - Digital Human Resource Development in Asia and Business Collaboration with Japan

(1) DX, AI, and other digital technologies are changing the nature of employment and society. Due to the declining working population caused by the falling birthrate and aging population, and the time being required to train advanced/leading-edge IT personnel, there are concerns that Japan will have a shortage of up to 790,000 advanced/leading-edge IT personnel by 2030. This has led to increased expectations for advanced foreign human resources.

(2) Countries in Southeast Asia and South Asia, led by India, which is said to have 5 million IT engineers, are focusing on the development of digital human resources, international collaboration for digital human resource development is ongoing. In August 2025, Japan and India reached an initiative and TICAD also declared a statement, where human resource exchange program to promote AI-related human resource development and capacity building was agreed upon. Thus, international collaboration towards digital human resource development is continuously implemented.

(3) The necessary IT human resources are changing along with innovations in digital technology. The demand for advanced IT foreign personnel differs depending on the type of business and industry, for example (i) globalised companies, operating GSCs (Global Supply Chains), (ii) industries that promote DX in cooperation with Japanese domestic industries, such as IT vendors and SIers, and (iii) SMEs operating in industrial clusters and rural regions of Japan. In addition, there are concerns about the impact of the enclosing practice caused by the competition for digital supremacy between the U.S. and China and/or enactment of the Economic Security Promotion Act, on the studying and working overseas, both of which encourages digital human resources development.

(4) As described above, the international and domestic environment for the development of digital human resources and collaboration is becoming increasingly complex, requiring continuous research and out-reach the result thereof to the society at large. This study group will examine "Digital Human Resource Development in Asia and Business Collaboration with Japan" and make policy recommendations based on the progress being made in Southeast and South Asian countries in developing digital human resources and collaboration with domestic industries.

Study Group Members　
Chair:
・Yasuhide Yamanouchi, Professor, Department of Social Informatics, Faculty of Social Informatics, ZEN University, Educational Institute of The Nippon Foundation and DWANGO

Members:
・Takahiro Fujimoto, Professor Emeritus, The University of Tokyo
・Takashi Kumon, Professor, Institute for Asian Studies, Asia University
・Tetsuya Sakashita, Managing Director, Japan Association for Promotion of Information Economy and Society (JIPDEC)
・Tomoaki Watanabe, Professor, Center for Global Communications, International University of Japan　(GLOCOM)

Observer:
Yugo Yoshida, Director, Advanced Foreign Talent Division, Intellectual Assets Department, Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)

Report of the Study Group]
Report on "Digital Human Resource Development in Asia and Business Collaboration with Japan" [Japanese ]

1st meeting
Wednesday, December 17, 2025. The chairperson explained the purpose, background, and research agenda of the study group, and it was agreed that by March, the group would take three steps; (1) understanding the current situation, (2) identifying issues, and (3) making policy recommendations on how to position Asian digital human resources and how to link them to Japan's industrial competitiveness, with global companies, DX promotion companies, and regional SMEs in mind. The committee members and observers discussed their recognition of the issues underlying "Digital Human Resource Development in Asia and Business Collaboration with Japan".

2nd meeting
Friday, January 30, 2026. Guest speakers included: 1) Mr. Masao Soh (Director, STI/DX, Office for Science, Technology and Innovation and Digital Transformation, Governance and Peacebuilding Department, Japan International Cooperation Agency) on "Cyber Security and AI in JICA" and 2) Ms. Keiko Okawa (Director, SOI Asia, Keio University) on "SOI Asia (School on Internet Asia" and discussed the current state of digital human resource development in Asia.

3rd meeting
Monday, March 2, 2026. Guest speakers, Yasuyuki Fujishima, Chairman, and Kimio Yamaguchi, Managing Director, both of Human Resources Development & Employment Organization (HuReDee), gave a lecture on "Promotion of Utilization of Advanced Human Resources in Vietnam" to grasp the current status of digital human resource development in Asia and to summarize issues. Prof. Yamanouchi explained the draft outline of the report, which was approved.