FINTECH MANPOWER DEVELOPMENT IN ASIA-PACIFIC FINANCIAL CENTERS WITH A FOCUS ON ARTIFICIAL INTELLIGENCE AND BIG DATA PROFESSIONALS

27 26 Artificial Intelligence and Big Data Talent Development in Asia Pacific 76. https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2020/12/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Japan-final-IAN.pdf 77. https://opentoexport.com/article/japan-big-data-for-a-bigger-economy/ 78. 八木康史 (2018, May). AI 人材育成のための教育プログラム：人工知能技術戦略会議での議論 . [Education Program for AI Human Resource Development: Discussion at Strategic Council for AI Technology] (In Japanese). | https://jsai.ixsq.nii.ac.jp/ej/?action=repository_action_common_download&item_id=9201&item_no=1&attribute_id=22&file_no=1 79. https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2020/12/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Japan-final-IAN.pdf 80. https://www.computerfutures.com/en-gb/blog/2018/09/positive-outlook-in-japans-market-as-tech-hiring-continues-to-boom/ 81. https://www.rvo.nl/sites/default/files/2020/12/Artificial-Intelligence-in-Japan-final-IAN.pdf 82. https://blog.gloture.co.jp/ai-market-japan/ have already investing heavily into AI Research & Development (R&D). Japan's exports of industrial robots is top in the world, and its expenditure in AI R&D is the third, following China and the United States. However, due to the country’s aging population, its biggest weakness continues to be the lack of human resources. 76 Supply and demand for tech-savvy talent knowledgeable in big data and data analytics are very similar to those in the AI industry. The aging population negatively influences both supply and demand. The Government has allocated 7.7 trillion yen to develop big data services, and it is planning to allocate more funding for big data R&D. 77 These investments will open numerous positions for software engineers and data scientists, which will inescapably accelerate the demand for this talent. As of 2020, there was a shortage of about 50,000 IT workers who could master AI technology in Japan. However, it is apparent that the Japanese AI workforce could not be supported by the local talent pipeline as the total number of graduates majoring in AI from all universities in Japan was about 3,000, according to a study published in 2018. 78 However, in reviewing the data on talent flow, Japan does not seem to be very successful in attracting overseas talent. In the meantime, it is expected that Japan will lose one-third of its current workforce by 2065 because of its aging population. 79 it is predicted that by 2030, the elderly will make up 40% of Japan’s population. As such, the Government is putting more efforts into training local talent and upskilling incumbent employees. 80 They are doing this by providing them with more training, while at the same time modifying hiring approaches and retention strategies to make the Japanese companies more competitive. 2.5.2 Initiatives/Government, Industry and Education sector policies that address the demands of AI, big data, and data analytics talent The Japanese Government has not formulated a national AI talent development plan. Instead, it tends to utilize AI in its overall policies to address societal and development issues through a plan named Society 5.0 . 81 Society 5.0 sets out a roadmap for AI integration into society and industry. It can be incorporated into different areas of development such as healthcare, industrialization, and energy policies. In particular, after reviewing the scarcity of AI talent, the Japanese Government plans to attract 250,000 AI experts from overseas by internationalizing its education programs. Furthermore, by providing funds and establishing special working visas, the Government hopes to make Japan more attractive to overseas talent. 82 The Government has also been promoting English as the working 69. https://www.sangyo-rodo.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/toukei/c8cdaf213387cae120e1754b8d448c59.pdf 70. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1176518/japan-contribution-of-finance-and-insurance-to-nominal-gdp/ 71. https://medium.com/quantumblack/why-japan-offers-a-perfect-storm-for-advanced-analytics-fcd6fffecc92 72. https://www.computerfutures.com/en-gb/blog/2018/09/positive-outlook-in-japans-market-as-tech-hiring-continues-to-boom/ 73. https://asia.nikkei.com/Business/Business-trends/Japan-s-shortage-of-AI-talent-opens-doors-for-disabled-workers 74. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-japan-tech-labour-focus-idUSKCN1UU0PX 75. https://www.computerfutures.com/en-gb/blog/2018/09/positive-outlook-in-japans-market-as-tech-hiring-continues-to-boom/ 2.5 TOKYO In 2016, the total number of employees working in Tokyo’s financial industry was about 400,000. 69 The finance industry contributed 4.1% to Japan’s GDP in 2019. 70 2.5.1 Supply and demand of AI, big data, and data analytics talent In 2018, the Japanese Government announced that the country will not be able to fill 220,000 technology-related job vacancies. 71 There is a growing shortage for big data, AI and IoT workers in Japan. It is estimated that there will be a shortfall of 48,000 and 200,000 in the areas of big data and AI/IoT/information security, respectively. 72 It is also estimated that Japan will have a shortfall of 120,000 workers in the AI sector by 2030. 73 The general shortage of IT workers could escalate to 790,000 in 2030, which is an alarming signal as this prediction already included former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s plan to train 250,000 people in AI annually. 74 Technology companies in Japan admitted that it is currently very challenging to retain employees. Some companies plan to provide training in cryptography and robotics to upskill their employees in order to meet the market demand and their business needs. 75 Corporations like Toyota and Fujitsu