RIETI Report August 7, 2026

Why is Sector-focused Training the Most Effective Reskilling Policy Initiative?

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Dear Readers,

Welcome to RIETI Report. This bi-weekly newsletter will keep you updated with the recent columns, event information and research results by RIETI fellows and other leading economists in Japan and around the world.

In this edition, we feature topics related to the importance of workforce development during societal transformations. While the effectiveness of workforce training and reskilling has not always met expectations, sector-focused training programs have emerged as a notable exception in an era of rapid technological and economic change. RIETI Consulting Fellow Dr. Yohei Kobayashi, in his latest column, citing the results of the U.S. sector-focused training program “Year Up,” explores what makes these programs successful and examines the lessons they offer for Japan's workforce development and reskilling policies.

We hope you will enjoy it. If you have any feedback, we would love to hear from you (news-info@rieti.go.jp).
Editors of RIETI Report (Facebook: @en.RIETI / X: @RIETIenglish / URL: https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/)

This month's featured article

Why is Sector-focused Training the Most Effective Reskilling Policy Initiative?

KOBAYASHI YoheiConsulting Fellow, RIETI

Artificial intelligence (AI) continues to evolve at a breakneck speed. Anthropic unveiled Claude Mythos in April 2026, but the company took the step of limiting the release for a certain period on the grounds that a public release of this powerful new AI model would heighten security risks. Afterwards, in June 2026, Anthropic released Fable 5, a Mythos-class model, but suspended its public release just several days later, as the U.S. government designated the model as subject to export controls. As this indicates, AI is beginning to exert a broad influence beyond the scope of any single technology. AI is even starting to affect white-collar jobs, which had until now been considered immune from mechanization or automation, so a wide range of socio-economic impacts such as job losses and widening inequality are expected to emerge, despite productivity increases.

>>>To download full text:
https://www.rieti.go.jp/en/columns/a01_0812.html

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