The second country to approve an ‘army’ of 10 million humanoid robots to take on China

Labor shortages—both skilled and unskilled—have become a global crisis. Workers in manual labor roles, which require intense physical effort and high daily energy expenditure, are increasingly scarce as young job seekers opt for less demanding career paths.

Japan is among the nations hit hardest by this demographic crunch. According to estimates cited by The Guardian, the country will need more than 6.5 million foreign workers to meet its future economic growth targets. To bridge this workforce gap, Japan is turning heavily to robotics.

While China currently leads the global automation race, its neighbor has taken a monumental step forward. Japan has approved a new national strategy aimed at deploying nearly 10 million robots by the end of the next decade, targeting 2040 as its horizon.

Backed by Sony, Honda and SoftBank

This initiative marks a massive push toward the automation of specific jobs, effectively transitioning them away from human labor. Orchestrated under the “Noetra” plan (named after the selected contractor), the strategy will span 18 different sectors, ranging from food production to basic healthcare, according to Ryosei Akazawa, the Minister of Economy, Trade, and Industry. To execute the blueprint, Japan plans to establish an AI-driven robotics hub tasked with spearheading deployment, research, and vocational training.

Backed by 1 trillion yen (approximately $5.8 billion USD) in government funding over the next five years, the primary objective is to help companies implement large-scale robotic systems—particularly in industries where staffing shortages are most acute. To achieve this, Noetra has secured backing from domestic giants including Sony, Honda, SoftBank, and NEC, with Rakuten and Fujitsu expected to join later. In total, around 40 companies are projected to participate.

The project centers on “embodied AI.” Unlike generative AI, which creates text or images in digital spaces, embodied AI enables physical robots to operate autonomously in the real world.

“Japan’s path to success lies in leveraging the data accumulated in areas like elderly care, disaster response, manufacturing plants, and the decommissioning of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power station. We will compete in areas where we hold vast volumes of data,” Akazawa said. According to the Industry Minister, Japan aims to “lead the sector globally” by creating and expanding data infrastructure tailored for embodied AI and robotics.

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