Frederic Giron, VP, Senior Research Director, Forrester, has published an article titled ‘From Digital Transformation Fatigue To AI Transformation Urgency: Japan’s Second Digital Awakening’ sharing his insights from the Infosys Enterprise AI World Tour in Tokyo.

He says, “In 2018, I wrote about Japan’s “digital cliff“: METI’s warning that legacy systems would become unsustainable by 2025, costing the economy over 2% of GDP annually. I predicted that when trains started running late, Japanese firms would finally embrace transformation. Seven years later, the trains still run on time. But a different kind of disruption has arrived.

The DX Decade Fell Short

In 2022, we wrote that Japanese firms were losing their appetite for digital transformation. Just 39% were actively engaged in DX, and a stubborn 9% remained completely uninterested. Local Japanese firms in particular seemed frozen, trapped between legacy systems and a risk-averse culture.

Fast forward to 2025 – the year of the “digital cliff” that METI warned about seven years ago. How did Japan fare? Tomio Kikyoubara of Nikkei BP Research Institute delivered the verdict: 76.8% of Japanese companies promote digital transformation initiatives, but only about one-third have achieved notable results. Despite all the ministry guidance, industry coalitions, and corporate commitments, DX fell short in Japan.”

From Digital Transformation Fatigue To AI Transformation Urgency: Japan’s Second Digital Awakening

Forrester