PwC Japan releases the results of PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey Japan edition

7 February 2025
PwC Japan Group

The PwC Japan Group (Chairman: Masataka Kubota) today released the results of PwC’s 28th Annual Global CEO Survey Japan edition. This edition focuses on 148 Japanese CEOs among the respondents of the survey published by PwC on 20 January 2025. It examines the current situation of Japanese companies and their future challenges through a comparative analysis with companies around the world. Please visit here for an overall analysis of the survey results.

This survey revealed that more than half of Japanese CEOs are optimistic about the growth prospects of the global economy and their own companies over the next 12 months. On the other hand, Japanese CEOs have a strong sense of urgency about the long-term business environment, which suggests that business model reinvention remains a challenge for them. The survey results also show that Japanese CEOs still lack sufficient confidence in AI.

The main features are as follows:

• Regarding the question ‘How confident are you about your company’s prospects for revenue growth over the next 12 months?’, Japanese CEOs are ‘Extremely confident/Very confident’ (22%) and ‘Moderately confident’ (52%), which highlights their confidence.
• Many Japanese CEOs (47%) answered that their company will no longer be economically viable a decade from now, if it continues running on its current path (compared to 42% globally). While the percentage of pessimistic answers has declined since the previous survey, this result shows that about half of Japanese CEOs have a strong sense of urgency about the future of their companies.

Diagram: Japanese CEOs are increasingly confident about the financial performance of their company

In regard to the results of this survey, Masataka Kubota, Chairman of the PwC Japan Group, stated:

‘Compared to past surveys, responses from Japanese CEOs to this survey show that they are increasingly confident about the near-term growth prospects of the global economy and the earnings of their own companies. On the other hand, compared to the rest of the world or the US, they have a strong sense of urgency about their medium- to long-term future and recognise the need for changes to address it. Society as a whole is in the midst of a transition period that entails major changes, and many companies are working to reinvent themselves to respond to such destabilisation. If the process and results of such reinvention are trustworthy for society, they will take root and steadily bear fruit. In order to realise its new management goal of “Trust and Transformation”, the PwC Japan Group will continue to strive to ensure that the reinvention expected to occur in businesses and society is based on trust.’

The survey also sought to gather the CEOs’ views on the reinvention of their business models, the utilisation of generative AI and measures to address climate change, yielding the following results:

• Regarding targeting new routes to market or a new customer base, the percentage of CEOs who answered that they took such actions ‘To a very large extent/To a large extent’ was lower in Japan compared to those around the world or in the US.
• Regarding the benefits of introducing generative AI, more than 40% of CEOs answered ‘Efficiency in my employees’ time at work increased’. However, compared to global CEOs, the impact of generative AI on productivity and profitability was smaller. It is also notable that many Japanese CEOs have a reserved opinion on the utilisation of AI, including generative AI.
• Regarding factors inhibiting climate-friendly investments, the percentage of CEOs who answered ‘Lack of demand from external stakeholders’ and ‘Lack of buy-in from my management team or the board’ was significantly lower in Japan compared to those around the world or in the US. This indicates that Japanese CEOs are currently being strongly urged by internal and external stakeholders to respond to climate change.

In light of the results mentioned above, Akane Yoshida, Chief Commercial Officer, commented:

‘Japanese companies continue to be required to respond to rapid changes in a closely interconnected world, which is characterised by rising geopolitical tensions, political instability and their negative impacts on the economy. Many Japanese companies will also face a significant challenge: if they limit themselves to their existing business in the Japanese market, they will struggle to come up with a persuasive growth story given the ongoing decline in birth rates and the ageing population.

The results of this study indicate that the reinvention efforts of Japanese companies, such as targeting new customer bases or exploring new routes to market, have been less aggressive compared to those around the world. As they face the ongoing challenge of creating new business models for the future to sustain value creation through dialogue with internal and external stakeholders, such as shareholders, Japanese companies increasingly need to prioritise research and development, along with other bold investments in new fields. Despite the current high level of uncertainty, Japanese companies are more than ever required to demonstrate leadership in making management decisions based on detailed planning that identifies global trends and leverages their own strengths.

Regarding generative AI, survey results show that its contribution to corporate activities has become increasingly evident. At the same time, responses from Japanese CEOs suggest that there is still significant room for improvement in terms of trust in AI in general. While there are high expectations for AI as a force to drive business reinvention, establishing higher level of trust in the technology is essential for its successful social implementation. The PwC Japan Group aims to foster a society where businesses and individuals can engage with AI confidently, by implementing adequate countermeasures to address the negative aspects of AI, such as unauthorised acquisition of information and the spread of false information. This will be based on the Group’s experience in offering various services that provide trust.’