Mizuho: Plans to replace 5,000 clerical positions with AI within 10 years.

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Mizuho Financial Group has announced plans to replace about 5,000 administrative positions with artificial intelligence over the next 10 years. Japan’s third largest lending institution is seeking to leverage technology to comprehensively improve productivity.

Mizuho stated in its announcement: "We plan to fully utilize AI and shift human resources to key business areas to enhance profitability." The bank also emphasized: "This is not layoffs." Affected employees will be reassigned to other positions.

This move comes as Japanese companies are actively expanding AI applications to boost operational efficiency. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi has made AI investment a core part of her policy agenda. Amid labor shortages, Japan’s banking industry is generally seeking to promote AI transformation with minimal large-scale layoffs.

Mizuho CEO Masahiro Kihara responded last October to concerns about AI replacing human workers, stating, "I don’t believe humans will lose their value. They can move toward jobs with more added value."

Japanese Banking Industry Accelerates AI Deployment

Mizuho said that its core banking unit and other group companies currently have about 15,000 clerical positions, with plans to replace about 5,000 of them with AI over the next 10 years. The bank clarified that affected employees will be reassigned to other roles and not dismissed.

This strategy of reallocating human resources reflects the cautious approach generally taken by Japanese companies in advancing automation—aiming to capture the efficiency gains of AI while intentionally avoiding labor relation risks associated with large-scale layoffs.

Japan's major banks are accelerating AI adoption. According to Bloomberg, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has partnered with OpenAI to speed up the use of AI in banking services. At the policy level, Takaichi’s government also sees AI investment as a key tool to boost economic competitiveness.

Facing the structural challenge of persistent labor shortages, Japanese banking executives are also working to allay market concerns about AI replacing jobs. Public statements by bank leaders such as Masahiro Kihara aim to deliver a message to employees and regulators: "AI empowers rather than replaces."

Globally, investment in AI by the banking industry continues to heat up, with applications ranging from product development to risk management. JPMorgan Chase invests about $2 billion annually in AI technology development, and according to the bank, this investment saves an equivalent amount each year, creating a significant closed-loop return on investment.

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