Japan Increasingly Relies on Service Robots Amid Aging Population and Labor Shortage

Amid a growing aging population and a severe labor shortage, Japanese businesses are increasingly turning to service robots to support their workforce.

According to a forecast by research firm Fuji Keizai, Japan’s service robot market is expected to nearly triple by 2030, reaching 400 billion yen (approximately $2.7 billion). This growth is largely driven by the country’s escalating labor shortfall.

The Recruit Works Institute projects that Japan could face a labor shortage of up to 11 million workers by 2040, while government estimates indicate that by 2065, 40% of the population will be aged 65 or older.

A Bloomberg report highlights how robots are filling this gap, with one notable example being Japan’s largest table-service restaurant chain, Skylark. The company currently employs approximately 3,000 robots to deliver food to customers. Yasuko Tagawa, a 71-year-old employee at a Tokyo branch, noted that robots now assist with half of her workload.

At one point, addressing a robot, she remarked, "Thank you for your hard work. I’m counting on you."