Korean Media: Japan's AI Competitiveness Ranks Only 11th Globally—Where Does China Stand?

On August 11, South Korean media outlet Newsis published an article stating that according to global AI competitiveness assessments, Japan lags behind the United States, China, and South Korea. The reason for this gap is not a lack of technological strength, but rather structural deficiencies in higher education and talent development systems.

The "Global Artificial Intelligence Index" released by UK-based Tortoise Media ranks Japan 11th out of 83 countries worldwide.

The United States and China rank first and second respectively, followed by Singapore, the United Kingdom, France, South Korea, Germany, Canada, Israel, and India—meaning these nations have actually surpassed Japan in AI competitiveness.

Some evaluations suggest that given Japan’s economic scale and its historical status as a “technological powerhouse,” ranking 11th is far from satisfactory.

The gap between Japan and the U.S. and China continues to widen.

Japanese media explain that “the United States possesses world-class artificial intelligence models, massive private investment, and a mature research environment,” while “China is rapidly transitioning from R&D to industrial application through organic collaboration among universities, enterprises, and government agencies.”

They further point out, “In contrast, although Japan is conducting pilot experiments, the technology has not yet been widely adopted nationwide, leading to a decline in its AI competitiveness.”

The inadequacy of higher education is considered a key factor behind this declining competitiveness. Compared to its competitors, Japan is severely lacking in foundational capacity for training AI talent.

Experts note, “Japan lacks systematic education in computer science, statistics, information engineering, and machine learning. Due to Japan’s long-standing industrial structure centered on manufacturing, the value of software has not been fully recognized.”

In addition, the outflow of AI talent seeking better research environments and higher salaries is also seen as one of the factors weakening Japan’s competitiveness.

Original source: toutiao.com/article/1873189620410380/

Disclaimer: This article represents the personal views of the author.