Japan's Rust Belt counting on robonomics to run assembly lines

Tokyo

A WITHERING factory town in Japan's Rust Belt is looking for revival through a dose of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's "robot revolution".

Kadoma's population has declined 13 per cent as the nation ages, prompting mergers among elementary schools and emergency services departments. Factories can't find enough people to run assembly lines, further threatening an industrial base that includes titan Panasonic Corp and smaller businesses like Izumo Co, a maker of industrial rubber.