The Japanese shipbuilding industry is recovering, but a severe shortage of labor due to declining population has prompted shipyards in the western part of Japan to increasingly use digital technologies and introduce foreign workers.
According to a shipbuilding company manager in Imabari City on Shikoku Island, all the challenges currently faced by the shipbuilding industry ultimately boil down to a shortage of labor.
In Kumamoto Prefecture in southwestern Kyushu Island, a shared office space operator responded to an invitation from Imabari City government and established a shared office space in the area in 2023 to promote local digital transformation. Recently, the office has started offering programming and artificial intelligence courses, with participants including employees from Shinrai Shipbuilding and Imabari Shipbuilding Group.
In the past, the Japanese shipbuilding industry operated on a customized production model tailored to each shipowner’s specific requirements, making it difficult to introduce standardized digital tools or automation technologies. Additionally, involvement from multiple stakeholders such as shipowners, operators, and shipyards poses challenges in system integration and interest coordination.
Sunabaco Company offers about a two-month programming training course to cultivate digital talents. In February of this year, the company hosted a robotics technology seminar, attracting over forty participants from the shipbuilding and marine equipment industries.
A Tokyo University startup company, Noahlogy, has also launched a pilot project in Imabari City. Starting from the summer of 2025, they plan to collaborate with Imabari Shipbuilding and Asakawa Shipbuilding, who are constructing medium-sized chemical carriers, to pilot the introduction of AI agents into the design process. These AI agents will check whether the shipyard designs comply with industry-specific regulations. Tasks that previously required manual completion, like inspections and adjustments, can now be partly replaced by artificial intelligence, potentially automating cost estimates and procurement processes.
Japan aims to double its shipbuilding output, but the entire supply chain of the shipbuilding industry is plagued by a severe shortage of labor. According to Imperial Databases, if orders double, the national shortage of labor in the shipbuilding-related fields could reach up to 12,000 people. Imabari City accounts for around 20% of Japan’s total completed shipbuilding, but it is projected that by 2050, the city’s working-age population will decrease by 40% compared to 2020.
With limited labor, improving productivity requires digital transformation, including the use of robotics. The importance of foreign workers in the shipbuilding industry is increasingly evident, with the number of foreign workers in the Japanese shipbuilding industry reaching 14,000 in 2025, the highest recorded since data tracking began in 2015.
The number of foreign residents in Imabari City has also reached an all-time high of 4,604. Some businesses in the city have launched inclusive society initiatives. For example, Black Ship Company established a base in Imabari City in 2024 to develop an application for hiring foreign workers. The application allows foreign workers to file workplace complaints and consultations while also providing local news and travel information. Global Trust Networks is currently collaborating with Imabari City to launch a pilot program for an application aimed at foreign workers, offering administrative information such as disaster and medical information in multiple languages.