Policy Brief
EIJS Policy Brief December 2025
Beyond Automation:
How Japan’s Human-Centered Service Model Is Reframing Global Expectations
Across advanced economies, automation has quietly reshaped many of the everyday moments that once depended on human interaction. Scandinavian hotels now welcome guests through fully digital check-in systems, and German retailers employ artificial intelligence for customer support, pricing, and logistics. Although the technologies differ by industry, a shared orientation has emerged in many Western contexts: service encounters are increasingly designed around efficiency, independence, and frictionless self-management.
Japan is moving along the same technological path, yet the meaning of automation takes on a distinctly different character. Numerous studies reveal that Japanese consumers continue to place exceptional importance on emotional reassurance, predictability, and the subtle cues that signal genuine attentiveness. These expectations are often described through the cultural idea of Omotenashi, which considers hospitality a kind of emotional contract rather than a simple transaction. While Western discussions tend to contrast high-touch human service with high-tech efficiency, Japanese consumers rarely regard the two as opposing forces. Emotional safety is expected to coexist with technological progress.
This article advances the idea that Japan is developing a model that can be understood as an emerging form of “augmented Omotenashi.” In this arrangement, technology operates vigorously behind the scenes while human interaction remains visible where emotional sensitivity matters. Three major service arenas illustrate how this configuration is quietly taking shape: hospitality and food services, public transportation, and healthcare.
Hospitality and Food Services
Few industries face stronger pressure to automate than hospitality and food services, yet Japan’s pattern of adoption reflects a careful negotiation between efficiency and emotional integrity.
The much-publicized Henn-na Hotel, presented as the world’s first robot-operated hotel, initially captured global attention. The reality soon proved less glamorous. Robots struggled with diverse accents, malfunctioned during the night, and failed to address urgent guest needs. Although the system appeared technologically competent, guests experienced a loss of emotional stability. Management eventually restored a significant number of human staff, demonstrating that, in Japan, the reliability of hospitality is inseparable from a sense of emotional security.
Traditional ryokans express a more sustainable interpretation of innovation. At Hoshinoya Tokyo and other celebrated properties in Arima and Kagoshima, technology supports reservation management and preference tracking, yet the visible service experience is intentionally human. Staff guide guests through arrival rituals, introduce the meaning of seasonal cuisine, and anticipate needs before they are voiced. Automation expands the capacity to deliver attentive care rather than substituting for it.
This balance appears in more everyday contexts as well. Convenience stores such as 7-Eleven Japan have introduced artificial-intelligence assisted self-checkout systems, yet many customers still prefer the presence of at least one staff member. The need is not technical but emotional. Small mistakes in a digital interface create discomfort disproportionate to their practical consequence, and the quiet reassurance of a nearby employee alleviates the tension.
Restaurants follow similar patterns. Tablet ordering systems are now common, but diners frequently turn to staff for explanations that carry a tone of friendliness and care. Ramen meal-ticket machines, often misinterpreted as early automation, in fact reduce the social pressure of verbal ordering while preserving the feeling of human warmth within the dining environment. The logic is unmistakably Japanese. Technology is accepted when it softens social friction and rejected when it threatens the emotional foundation of the experience.
Theme parks reinforce the same cultural logic. Tokyo Disneyland offers digital ordering and queue-management tools, yet visitors continue to expect personal greetings, conversation, and celebratory interaction. Leisure experiences are valued not only for entertainment but for the sense of relational connection that accompanies them.
Across these varied environments, Japanese consumers judge automation by its ability to preserve emotional predictability rather than by the degree of efficiency it delivers.
Public Transportation
Japan’s transportation ecosystem reveals a similar interplay between technological sophistication and interpersonal reassurance. Airlines, airports, and railway systems have incorporated automation to manage rising traffic and labor shortages. Even so, human presence remains essential.
At major airports such as Haneda and Narita, automated bag-drop stations and artificial-intelligence guidance systems coexist with highly visible staff support. Employees stand beside kiosks, stepping in the moment confusion arises. They escort elderly passengers to departure gates, offer proactive instructions, and provide a sense of emotional steadiness that digital tools cannot replicate.
In-flight service maintains an equally interpersonal character. Cabin crews on Japanese airlines deliver personal greetings, attentive eye contact, and subtle monitoring of passenger comfort. These gestures endure even as digital ordering, predictive analytics, and automated cabin logistics quietly expand behind the scenes.
Rail travel exhibits the same hybrid quality. JR East employs robots for basic inquiries, yet when delays or route disruptions occur, human staff take over. Emotional cues such as urgency, frustration, or anxiety require interpretation that current automation cannot adequately perform. Technology assists the system, but it does not define the tenor of the passenger experience.
Healthcare
Healthcare offers a third window into Japan’s approach to automation. Hospitals increasingly use digital reception kiosks and automated payment systems, but these tools rarely stand alone. Staff remain nearby to guide older adults who may find the interfaces stressful or confusing. A simple mistake when navigating a screen can provoke anxiety that undermines trust. Hospitals recognize that emotional clarity is essential in medical environments where vulnerability is already heightened.
Compared with many European facilities that rely more heavily on fully automated reception areas, Japanese hospitals place greater emphasis on digital inclusion and interpersonal assistance. Automation reduces administrative burden and enhances efficiency, yet human involvement preserves the empathy and stability patients expect.
Implications
Taken together, these three sectors reveal a coherent cultural logic that shapes Japan’s relationship with automation. Japanese consumers value efficiency, yet they rarely view it as sufficient on its own. Emotional reassurance remains a fundamental component of service quality. As a result, automation is adopted selectively, with organizations choosing technologies that support rather than compromise the interpersonal foundation of the experience.
The implications extend beyond Japan. Advanced economies face similar pressures such as labor shortages, aging populations, and rising expectations for consistent service performance. Japan’s emerging model demonstrates that automation and humanity need not compete. When technology strengthens the conditions for trust and emotional connection, the service experience becomes more resilient, not less human.
For policymakers, Japan highlights the importance of designing digital systems that remain accessible to vulnerable groups. For businesses, it underscores the competitive value of preserving human presence in an increasingly digitized world. For researchers, it offers a framework for understanding how cultural expectations and emotional norms shape the trajectory of technological adoption.
Japan’s trajectory suggests a future in which automation enhances the human elements that give service its purpose. Rather than replacing empathy with efficiency, Japan demonstrates a path that weaves the two together in a way that may offer guidance for societies navigating the same dilemma.
Selected references
Academic Journal Articles
Huang, M.-H., & Rust, R. T. (2021). Engaged to a robot? The role of AI in service. Journal of Service Research, 24(1), 3–16. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520902266
Wirtz, J., Zeithaml, V. A., & Gouthier, M. (2020). Technology-mediated service encounters. Journal of Service Research, 23(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670519853101
Belanche, D., Casaló, L., Flavián, C., & Schepers, J. (2020). Service robot implementation: Understanding customer acceptance. Journal of Service Research, 23(1), 5–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670519878889
Marinova, D., de Ruyter, K., Huang, M.-H., & Challagalla, G. (2021). Getting smarter: AI, customer experience, and service excellence. Journal of the Academy of Marketing Science, 49(4), 659–683. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11747-021-00819-7
Van Doorn, J., Mende, M., Noble, S. M., Hulland, J., Ostrom, A., Grewal, D., & Petersen, J. (2021). Domo arigato Mr. Roboto: Consumer–robot relationships in service. Journal of Service Research, 24(1), 3–21. https://doi.org/10.1177/1094670520931255
Japanese Government and Institutional Reports
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI). (2020). Future service design and human-technology integration in Japan. Tokyo: METI.
East Japan Railway Company (JR East). (2021). Digital and human-integration strategy report. Tokyo: JR East.
Japan Hospitality Research Institute. (2020). Omotenashi capabilities in contemporary Japanese service industries. Tokyo: JHRI.
Global and Industry Reports
McKinsey Global Institute. (2021). Hospitality and retail automation: The next frontier of service productivity. McKinsey & Company.
World Economic Forum. (2020). The human experience in the age of intelligent automation. Geneva: WEF.
OECD. (2021). Digital transformation and the future of work in aging societies. Paris: OECD Publishing.
Deloitte. (2022). Human-centered service transformation in the digital era. Deloitte Insights.
Accenture. (2023). AI-powered experience and the future of consumer trust. Accenture Research.
Author:
Spring H. Han
Professor, Graduate School of Management, Kyoto University
Email: han.hyunjeong.8r@kyoto-u.ac.jp
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