【Generative AI】The End of Overseas Japanese Consulting Firms

“Can we still offer consulting services to Japanese companies overseas…?”

If you’re a Japanese consulting firm reading this, have you ever felt this doubt?

With the rise of generative AI tools like Chat GPT, Deep Seek, and Grok, overseas Japanese consulting companies are seeing plummeting demand—joining the ranks of industries being phased out.

*In this article, “overseas Japanese consulting companies” mainly refer to firms providing comprehensive services in areas such as human resources, labor, accounting, and legal affairs.

Before diving into the core discussion, let’s first examine which industries and fields have already been replaced by AI.

Industries and fields replaced by AI

As AI gains prevalence, the industries and fields being replaced by it share several distinct traits:

〇 Jobs that only provide simple information
〇 Jobs that mainly involve writing formulaic texts
〇 Jobs that involve a lot of repetitive tasks and do not require much thinking or creativity
〇 Jobs with shallow expertise and relying on knowledge that even AI can learn in a short time

Here are specific industries and occupations that fit this profile:

① Customer support (first-line support)

Chatbots will replace FAQs and first-line inquiries.

② General translation work (especially simple content)

The accuracy of Chat GPT and other tools will improve, and low-cost work will disappear.

③ Article writers (batch-generated SEO articles)

News digests, product introductions, template blog articles, etc. can be created instantly through artificial intelligence.

④ Data entry and simple clerical work

Combined with automation tools (RPA + AI), these tasks can be reduced at one time.

⑤ Basic administrative assistants such as human resources, labor and accounting

Artificial intelligence will assist or replace resume screening, drafting employment contracts, and preliminary reviews of financial reports.

⑥ Telemarketing/call center (script reading type)

Replaced by artificial intelligence voice response and automatic appointment system.

⑦ Consulting companies

Since AI can now collect and provide qualified information, there is no need to seek advice from consultants if the content is general.

Why are overseas Japanese consulting companies disappearing?

Why have overseas Japanese consulting firms been able to expand globally? When Japanese clients expand overseas, these firms often follow to help establish local entities. Additionally, Japanese companies (and their staff) seek the familiarity and reassurance of working with fellow Japanese entities.

Moreover, navigating language and cultural nuances, coupled with the complexity of overseas labor and accounting practices, led clients to rely on trusted Japanese consulting firms—even paying a “peace of mind premium” for their services. This has long been the norm.

However, setting up an overseas Japanese consulting firm requires little capital or specialized technology, resulting in low barriers to entry and a saturated market. In China especially, actual labor and legal services must be provided by locally certified Chinese firms. Thus, most “Japanese consulting companies” act merely as intermediaries between clients and Chinese service providers.

*Some Japanese consulting firms even charge exorbitant referral fees for simply introducing or matching clients with desired partners.

In this landscape, focusing solely on overseas Japanese companies means competing for a shrinking market—a futile war of attrition. With the rise of generative AI in recent years, only a handful of overseas Japanese consulting firms will survive; the rest will be naturally eliminated.

What will be the future of overseas Japanese IT consulting companies?

Overseas Japanese IT consulting firms that only offer “initial system implementation support and business design assistance” also risk elimination.

With Chat GPT and SaaS tools enabling widespread automation and standardization, firms stuck doing just initial setup and manual creation—like they used to—will lose their value.

(Client companies can also cut implementation and usage costs by contracting directly with SaaS providers and leveraging AI.)

What’s more, many overseas Japanese IT consulting firms only have expertise in “GAFA” systems (Google, AWS, etc.). But in China, where local services like Alibaba and Tencent dominate, mastering these platforms’ knowledge and technologies is critical. Sticking solely to GAFA systems will lead to poor results when implementing and operating systems locally in China, as practices differ significantly.

What will the future be like for IT companies that can independently develop systems and sign contracts?

On the other hand, companies like ours—”IT firms specializing in outsourced system development”—stand firm in the belief that “technology-creating capabilities remain a vital edge for the future,” making us less vulnerable to AI replacement.

The reason lies in global clients’ persistent demand for “solutions tailored to their unique needs.”

For instance, countless specific business requirements and integrations can’t be fully addressed by SaaS alone; generative AI and tools, confined to “existing frameworks,” also fall short. Further customization thus hinges entirely on technical expertise and engineering talent. We believe that outsourced system development firms like ours are indispensable across industries and sectors, whether in China, Japan, or other global markets.

Summary

In today’s AI era, the notion that “overseas Japanese consulting firms = run by Japanese” no longer holds. We’re in an era of “either become true professionals or vanish”—consulting firms and consultants unprepared to adapt will disappear from the market in the next few years.

Supplement

In recent years, the use of search engines has declined with the rise of generative AI tools like Chat GPT and Deep Seek.

Traditional internet searches often involve sifting through SEO-optimized articles—users must spend time verifying the accuracy of information across different websites and texts.

While some argue that AI can produce incorrect answers, online information itself is frequently flawed.

Ultimately, if the source is internet-based, researching via AI is no different from traditional searches. It’s far more efficient to leverage AI.