Due to population shortages and an aging workforce, Japanese companies are increasingly relying on service robots to supplement their workforce, according to Bloomberg.
Market research firm Fuji Keizai projects the country's service robot market will triple by 2030, reaching 400 billion yen ($2700 billion). Potentially driving that growth are construction projects where the country will face a labor shortage of 11 million by 2040, while a government-backed institute estimates that nearly 40% of the population will be 65 or older by 2065.
To illustrate how robots are filling the void, Bloomberg cites the country's largest table-service restaurant chain, Skylark, which uses around 3000 on-screen cat-like robots to deliver food to tables. At one of the chain's Tokyo restaurants, 71-year-old Yasuko Tagawa estimated that half of her work now involves some form of robotic assistance.
At one point, Tagawa said to a robot, "Thanks for your hard work. I'll count on you."
Research firm Fuji Keizai projects the country's service robot market will triple by 2030, to 400 billion yen ($2.7 billion). Potentially driving that growth: construction site recruitment projects that the country will face a labor shortage of 11 million by 2040, while a government-backed institute estimates that nearly 40% of the population will be 65 or older by 2065.
To illustrate how robots are filling the void, Bloomberg points to the country's largest table-service restaurant chain, Skylark, which uses around 3.000 cat-eared robots to deliver food to tables. At one of the chain's Tokyo restaurants, 71-year-old Yasuko Tagawa estimated that half of her work now involves some form of robotic assistance.
At one point, Tagawa said to a robot, “Thanks for your hard work. I’ll count on you.”
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