Robots and machines help solve Japan's labour shortage

Tokyo

THE rise of the machines in the workplace has US and European experts predicting massive unemployment and tumbling wages.

Not in Japan, where robots are welcomed by Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's government as an elegant way to handle the country's ageing populace, shrinking workforce and public aversion to immigration.

Japan is already a robotics powerhouse. Mr Abe wants more and has called for a "robotics revolution". His government launched a five-year push to deepen the use of intelligent machines in manufacturing, supply chains, construction and healthcare, while expanding the robotics markets from 660 billion yen to 2.4 trillion yen (S$28.1 billion) by 2020.

"The labour shortage is such an acute issue that companies have no choice but to boost efficiency," says Hajime Shoji, the head of the Asia-Pacific technology practice at Boston Consulting Group.…