Japan Govt to Use AI to Help Draft Parliamentary Responses

Tokyo, April 3 (Jiji Press)--The Japanese government will use an artificial intelligence system to help draft answers to parliamentary questions to reduce the burden on government officials, digital transformation minister Hisashi Matsumoto said Friday.

"The government will take the lead and use AI to tackle human resources shortages," Matsumoto told the Budget Committee of the House of Councillors, the upper chamber of parliament.

"I want to be among the first to use it," he said in his reply to a question from Masaaki Waki, a lawmaker of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party.

According to the National Personnel Authority, the number of central government employees who worked over 100 hours of overtime per month reached 5,121 in fiscal 2024, while 7,118 employees worked more than 80 hours of overtime on average for two to six months. Both are considered key risk thresholds for death from overwork.

Major reasons for such long overtime are preparations for parliamentary answers by cabinet members and work related to state budgets and legislation.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]