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Robotics roadmaps from around the world spotlight of the month: Japan
Robots have been a prolific theme in Japanese pop culture and media since the 1950s, which includes global icons like the Transformers, Astro Boy, and Doraemon (1). Perhaps not coincidentally, Japanese citizens have a positive outlook on robotic technologies and their use in the labor sector compared to many other nations (2); much to their advantage, as robotics continues to be a vital pillar for ensuring Japan’s economic resilience and future growth. Here, we discuss priorities and long-term agendas as presented in Japan’s national robotics strategies.
Natural disasters, aging, and economic competition
The combination of its geographic location, geologically active landmass, and topography renders Japan prone to frequent natural disasters. Although weather control is among Japan’s lofty research goals for the next 25 years (3), geological disturbances remain inevitable. As such, disaster mitigation and response are high priorities that serve as motivation for robotics development in Japan (4). Intelligent machines are expected to expedite disaster response and search-and-rescue, while minimizing exposure of workers and volunteers to unnecessary hazards – a notable reminder being the 2011 Fukushima Disaster (5).
Aging workforce is a second pressing issue. Japan is currently the oldest demographic nation, defined as of 2007 as a “super-aged” society with nearly a third of citizens aged 65 or older (6). According to government roadmaps (4), Japan views robotic development as a crucial tool for preventing a GDP collapse due to the rapid labor shortage, specifically in services like healthcare, elderly assistance, and manual labor. Unlike countries which opt for immigration reform for addressing fluctuation in labor markets, Japan maintains historically tight immigration regulations. A strong preference towards preserving traditional values may influence their massive investments towards shifting to a robotic workforce (7).
Japan has a mature robotics industry, claiming the title of the largest manufacturer and exporter of industrial robots for the last half century (8). 45% of the global supply originated from Japan in 2022, with nearly an 80% export rate to countries such as EU members, the USA, and China (9). However, the combination of economic decline and competition from oversea manufacturing present the challenge of maintaining leadership in the global value chain. Leveraging their specialty in robotics hardware design is crucial to maintain a competitive edge in the global economy.
Society 5.0
Japan is betting on bold technological solutions for ensuring the prosperity of their future society. To do so, the government proposes a streamlined effort towards technocentric “super-smart cities” (coined Society 5.0) (10). The directive is set by the Science and Technology Basic Plan, a large-scale roadmap updated every five years (with 2026 marking the transition into the 7th Plan). An additional Integrated Innovation Strategy is used as an annually-updated agile document for integrating urgent priorities into the larger Basic Plan.
Super cities
Japan is investing heavily into research on human-robot interactions, so that users are embedded early on into technological design considerations of Society 5.0. Accordingly, in 2020 the Japanese Parliament passed the Super City Amendment, which allows regulatory sandboxes for specific “super cities” (currently Osaka and Tsukuba) to bypass certain laws that otherwise impede the integration of technologies like AI-driven robots into the public space (11, 12). These large-scale tests are carried out preceding what they hope could become widespread implementation of robotics to mitigate issues such as labor shortage. Following suit, as of late September 2025, the automobile industry Toyota has launched their own version of a Super City, Woven City, which provides a campus for employees to work, live, and even raise a family (13).
Moonshot programs
Japan also utilizes high-risk, high-impact research roadmaps with 30-year timelines, called Moonshot Programs, to encourage bold technological solutions for the future (14). The authors of these programs are a blend of members from government, industry, and academia. Two of the current ten Moonshot Goals are directly related to robotics.
Goal 1 of the Moonshot Program is to Overcome Limitations of Body, Brain, Space, and Time, a goal largely focused on the creation of Cybernetic Avatars – the fusing of sensations and motions between human users and tele-operated robots. By 2050, they hope to create the technology and infrastructure to implement Cybernetic Avatars into everyday society. Goal 3 of the Moonshot Program is the Co-Evolution of Robots and AI. Sub-goals within Goal 3 include the creation of robots that 1) 90% of citizens will feel comfortable engaging with by 2030, 2) work in remote and dangerous locations by 2050, and 3) autonomously innovate by 2050.
Humanoids and physical AI
In December 2025, a strategic update has been made to Goal 3 of the Moonshot Program, which prioritizes the development of general-purpose autonomous humanoid robots which can adapt to human-centric environments (15). Japan had in fact led humanoid research decades back (16), already developing Honda’s famous Asimo in 2000 (17) – but despite these early successes, humanoids remained astronomically expensive to manufacture, impractical for real-world applications, and remained publicity tools for promoting other industrial products. These commercialization challenges have largely been overcome with advancements in low-cost and back-drivable actuation components, additive manufacturing, and generalizable AI. As countries like China and the USA have sparked a humanoids build-up race, Japan is playing catch-up to re-assert themselves in this arena, which is rapidly taking center stage in the tech world (18).
To keep up in this humanoids race, it is crucial for Japan to invest heavily in domestic AI. In line with this need, in the same month as the Moonshot Program update, the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) decided to quadruple its previous investments in AI to $8 billion USD (now the third highest expenditure for AI just after China and the USA), with approximately $2.5 billion USD of this fund allocated specifically for physical AI (robots) (19).
In March 2026, Japan has also included updates to their Integrated Innovation Strategy (20), with plans to install R&D hubs across its 16 sectors for training domestic AI-robots and recruit both local and international talent. Overall, it would seem that Japan is leveraging its expertise in precision hardware to perform large-scale physical training for high-precision AI-driven robots.
Strategic relations with the USA
For the better part of the last century, Japan and the USA have been allies and trading partners. Japan’s recent Moonshot Program, along with their National Defense Strategy from 2022, both state the importance of their continued partnership (21). Notably, the USA is a global leader in AI but lacks a government-backed robotic hardware strategy, which could ensure a symbiotic relationship with Japan’s mature hardware ecosystem (22).
Supply chain pressures have also incentivized Japan and the USA’s joint collaboration to conduct deep-sea rare-earth mining using advanced robotic systems off the coast of Japan, in line with Goal 3 of the Moonshot Program. The first successful mining test, which involved underwater autonomous vehicles, was conducted in February 2026 (23). The use of robotics for underwater monitoring will also surely become critical for monitoring the impact of deep-sea mining to the marine environment, a highly contested topic (24).
In a historical move amidst mounting geopolitical tensions, Japan has also recently introduced dual-use technologies as a priority for their revised 7th Basic Plan (25), which demands the ramp-up of domestic R&D and research on unmanned vehicles and drone technologies (a move strongly endorsed by the USA). This decision comes with the high expenditure commitment of 2% of the national GDP.
Japan has ambitious societal plans for the coming decades, and robotics will play an increasing vital role – from sustaining domestic services, to enabling the physical autonomy of citizens, and revitalizing the economy. Ultimately, Japan’s roadmaps reveal a future where robots are partners for shaping a resilient and human-centric society.
On that note – our next month’s article will feature robotics strategies from the USA. Thanks for reading, and stay tuned.
This is a continuation of a monthly series on international robotics roadmaps. We welcome questions, comments, and feedback for future editions at ras@ieee.org.
Ellen H. Rumley – Policy Analyst
Allison Okamura – Vice President
IEEE RAS Science & Technology Watch Board
References
[1] Hornyak, T. N. (2006). Loving the Machine: The Art and Science of Japanese Robots. Tokyo: Kodansha International.
[2] Mitsubishi Research Institute. (2022). How different countries perceive robots: An original survey.
[3] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2021). Moonshot Goal 8: Realization of a society safe from the threat of extreme winds and rains by controlling and modifying the weather by 2050. Bureau of Science, Technology and Innovation.
[4] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2025). Integrated innovation strategy 2025. [5] Encyclopaedia Britannica. (2026, March 9). Fukushima accident.
[6] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2024). Annual report on the state of the formation of a resilient society for an aging population: White paper on the aging society 2024.
[7] Speed, J. Japan aims to take in 1.23M foreign workers under labor migration programs. The Japan Times.
[8] Nasdaq. (2021, October 25). Japan’s robot dominance.
[9] International Federation of Robotics. (2022, March 10). Japan is world’s number one robot maker.
[10] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2016). The 5th Science and Technology Basic Plan (2016–2020).
[11] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2020). Act partially amending the Act on National Strategic Special Zones and the Act on Special Districts for Structural Reform (Act No. 34 of 2020).
[12] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2022). Designation of the Super City type National Strategic Special Zones: Osaka Prefecture/Osaka City and Tsukuba City. Bureau of Regional Revitalization.
[13] Toyota Motor Corporation. (2025, September 25). Toyota Woven City officially launches as a test course for the future of mobility [Press release].
[14] Japan Science and Technology Agency. (n.d.). Moonshot R&D | TOP.
[15] Kuniyoshi, Y. (2025, October 28). Appendix 3: PD’s policy (Moonshot Goal 3). Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).
[16] Waseda University. (2026, May 8). The robots of Waseda: A 50-year journey in humanoid innovation. Waseda University News.
[17] Honda Motor Co., Ltd. (n.d.). History of robotics development. Honda Global Corporate Website.
[18] Morgan Stanley Research. (2025, May). Humanoids: A $5 trillion market. Morgan Stanley Investment Management.
[19] Nohara, Yoshiaki, and Komaki Ito. “Japan to quadruple spending support for chips and AI in budget.” The Japan Times, 26 Dec. 2025.
[20] The Japan News. (2024, May 20). Japanese govt to set up global hubs for AI robotics research.
[21] Cabinet Secretariat. (2022, December 16). National security strategy of Japan [Provisional translation].
[22] Fujitsu. (2025, October 3). Fujitsu expands strategic collaboration with NVIDIA to deliver full-stack AI infrastructure [Press release].
[23] The Japan News. (2024, August 24). Japan deep-sea drilling ship Chikyu extracts rare earth mud; represents major breakthrough for domestic supply. The Japan News. [24] Lelyveld, M. (2024, September 10). Japan’s deep-sea gamble: A new rare earth frontier in the Pacific. The Diplomat.
[25] Cabinet Office, Government of Japan. (2026, March 27). The 7th science, technology, and innovation basic plan (FY2026–FY2030) [Cabinet Decision].
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