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Japan Ministry Studies AI Agents for Local Government Tasks
Japan’s internal affairs ministry has begun exploring autonomous AI agents to handle routine work at local governments facing labor shortages. A new study group held its first meeting Thursday and will issue reports through summer 2027.
Jul 11, 4:15 AM·1m read1 source
Japan TimesAudio version
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Japan’s internal affairs ministry has begun considering the introduction of artificial intelligence agents to autonomously perform tasks at local governments facing labor shortages, Japan Times reported. On Thursday the ministry held the first meeting of a study group that includes experts and local government officials.
The group will examine which tasks could be assigned to AI agents and how employees would approve and monitor the work.
The study group plans to compile an interim report by the end of fiscal 2026 and release a final report around summer 2027. It will review cases such as AI agents completing address-update procedures and will discuss granting agents a limited degree of autonomy. As of October 2025, 74 percent of Japan’s local governments were already using some form of AI, the ministry said.
Tools that classify data, make predictions, or generate text and images were common, while AI agents remained rare outside limited trials. The group will also consider ways to expand existing AI tools, including combining different systems for single tasks and identifying implementation challenges.
