The Area Where Japanese Companies Are Most Behind

Introduction

Discussions about IT in Japanese companies often point to delays in technology adoption, a shortage of digital talent, and an abundance of legacy systems. While these are aspects of the truth, the reality is that for many companies, simply improving these areas does not solve the fundamental problem. This article clarifies the area where Japanese companies are most behind, not from the perspective of technical capability or human resources, but from the viewpoint of “management design responsibility.”

The Lag Was Not in “IT” Itself

First, let’s confirm the conclusion. The area where Japanese companies are most behind is not IT itself. Centered on manufacturing, they possess advanced technology, have long experience operating business systems, and have a track record of utilizing IT at the operational level. Despite this, the fundamental reason why IT has not become a weapon for management as a whole lies not in technical standards, but in the domain that determines how to position and use IT.

The Most Lagging Area is “Integrated Design”

If we were to describe the area where Japanese companies are most behind in one phrase, it is “integrated design by management.” How to connect business and IT, how to align organization and IT, where to stop local optimization. Because no one explicitly took responsibility for designing these elements as a unified whole, business IT, operational IT (IT departments), and individual DX initiatives evolved independently and piled up without being integrated.

They Could Adopt Technology, But Could Not Achieve “Integration of Meaning”

Japanese companies have indeed adopted technologies like ERP, CRM, BI, and various SaaS solutions. The problem is that they did not integrate the *meaning* of “what management decisions these tools are for.” As a result, even the same data is interpreted differently, KPIs proliferate by department, and management decisions remain dependent on individuals. This is not a problem of implementation capability, but a problem of absent design.

The Cost of Not Deciding “Who Decides”

The biggest reason integrated design did not progress was the failure to decide who decides for the whole. Through a series of judgments like “IT is specialized, so leave it to the field,” “respect departmental decisions,” and “leave coordination to the IT department or CIO,” a structure was created where “no one stops it, no one discards it, no one integrates it.”

The Gap with Overseas is Not “Speed” but “Responsibility Design”

In comparisons with overseas companies, it is often explained that “overseas decision-making is faster” or “Japan takes time for consensus-building.” However, the essential difference is not speed, but whether “it is designed who holds the final responsibility.” In overseas companies, management has explicitly taken on the responsibility for integrated decisions regarding business, organization, and IT, and has designed IT based on that premise. In contrast, in Japanese companies, the situation continued where IT alone increased while decision-making responsibility remained ambiguous.

The Most Lagging Area is “Management Design Capability”

Based on the above, the area where Japanese companies are most behind is clear. It is the capability to design management through IT—namely, “management design capability.” What do they want to replicate? Which decisions are embedded into the structure? What is left to people? The fundamental cause of the current fragmentation is that they have piled up tool introductions, organizational reforms, and DX measures without deciding these things.

Conclusion

The area where Japanese companies are most behind is neither technology nor talent. It is the domain where management decides what to design using IT—that is, “management design responsibility.” This lag can be recovered even now and can be addressed before further technology investment. However, the condition is clear: management must take on the responsibility for integration and design itself. For companies that can do this, IT will become a true weapon, the organization will become lighter, and management will become replicable. The key to catching up always lies with management.