TOKYO - Japan will face a shortfall of 3.26 million workers in fields related to artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics by 2040, the country's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) projected Monday.

In its workforce projections, the ministry estimates that Japan will need 4.98 million workers specialized in AI and robotics by 2040. However, at the current pace of human resource development, only 1.72 million will be available.

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Additionally, the manufacturing sector is expected to be short by 2.81 million workers for production processes as demand is projected to reach 8.65 million workers, while the supply is expected to be just 5.84 million.

In contrast, labor surpluses are forecast in several other fields. The office administration sector is projected to have an excess of 2.14 million workers, the sales sector 510,000, and the service sector around 100,000.

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The ministry also analyzed workforce needs by education level. By 2040, Japan is expected to face a shortage of 600,000 university graduates with science and engineering backgrounds.

On the other hand, there will be a surplus of 280,000 liberal arts university graduates and 70,000 with liberal arts postgraduate degrees.