One in four in Japan think AI could eventually replace their friends and family

One in four people in Japan think advanced AI could eventually replace their friends and family.

The number comes from a Jiji Press survey conducted through face to face interviews with 2,000 adults across Japan from June 12 to 15, 2026. Asked whether more advanced AI would replace their friends and families in future, 24.9% said yes and 65.1% said no.

The age split

This is the part worth reading twice. Among respondents aged 18 to 29, 32.5% said yes. It was 30.1% among people in their 30s, 29.2% in their 40s and 31.4% in their 50s.

The belief is not confined to the young. Roughly three in ten across every age band under 60 can picture AI stepping into their closest relationships. Whatever is driving the answer, it is not just digital-native optimism.

Who is actually using the tools

On usage: 30.8% said they use generative AI tools such as ChatGPT, while 67.8% said they do not. Usage peaked at 56.2% among people in their 30s and 53.3% among 18 to 29 year olds, falling to 21.9% among those in their 60s.

Notice the gap between the two questions. Usage is heavily concentrated in the young, but the belief that AI could replace relationships is spread far more evenly. People do not need to use the tools to find the scenario plausible.

What the survey is not saying

Nobody in this survey said AI has already replaced their relationships. They said they can imagine it happening. That gap between “can imagine” and “already true” is where the next few years get decided, and a quarter of a country saying “can imagine” is how such shifts tend to start.