Two Japanese local governments, two ways to make generative AI stick: Chiyoda City saves about 2,000 hours a month, and Toride City grew use team by team.
https://kn.itmedia.co.jp/kn/article/2610/08/2000002100/
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Moving generative AI from 'installed' to 'used': Chiyoda City (Tokyo) and Toride City (Ibaraki) took contrasting approaches.
Challenge: Even after rollout, staff split into those who use AI and those who don't, so it rarely takes root.
AI's role: Chiyoda rolled out Microsoft 365 Copilot organization-wide with 900 licenses, covering nearly all administrative staff. Toride chose not to chase non-users and expanded from motivated departments, including a tool that drafts answers for city council questions.
Results: Chiyoda: 97% usage rate and approx. 2,000 hours saved per month (calculation method not disclosed). Toride: about half of the tool's users said it cut their drafting time by about half (user survey).
What made it stick: Chiyoda: a cross-department project team and open Q&A sessions. Toride: an environment where input data is not reused for model training, plus usage guidelines.
People lead; AI walks alongside. AI handles research and first drafts, giving staff more time to think.
Source: https://kn.itmedia.co.jp/kn/article/2610/08/2000002100/ (Oct 8, 2026, Keyman's Net)
