Japan reveals new Noetra plan to flood the country with 10 million robots by 2040 including work in the nursing, food and drink sectors

Date:
Sun, 05 Jul 2026 19:05:00 +0000

Description:
Japan has plans 10 million robots by 2040, using Noetra AI models to address labour shortages across key industries.

FULL STORY ======================================================================Copy link Facebook X Whatsapp Reddit Pinterest Flipboard Threads Email Share this article 0 Join the conversation Follow us Add us as a preferred source on Google Newsletter Subscribe to our newsletter Japan plans to deploy 10
million additional robots before 2040 arrives Nursing homes and food
factories sit at the centre of expansion Noetra will supply the AI foundation powering future Japanese robots nationwide Japan has unveiled a revised national robotics strategy which aims to introduce around 10 million robots
in the country by 2040.

Economy, Trade and Industry Minister Ryosei Akazawa announced the plan, which now spans 18 fields after adding food manufacturing and medical care to earlier priorities. The government intends to move quickly to establish a
core AI robotics hub, supporting deployment, research, and workforce training activities across the country. Latest Videos From Watch full video here: Robots move beyond the factory floor Officials described the hub as central
to helping companies adopt robots at scale over the coming years,
particularly in sectors already struggling with staff shortages.

The strategy centres on Noetra, a domestically produced multimodal foundation model developed alongside a National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology project focused on physical AI. You may like People are
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Noetra is majority-owned by SoftBank, NEC, Sony Group and Honda, while
Fujitsu and Rakuten are reportedly still weighing whether to join the consortium.

Akazawa said accumulated data from elderly care, disaster response, manufacturing sites and the Fukushima Daiichi decommissioning effort
underpins the government's confidence in the approach. Are you a pro? Subscribe to our newsletter Sign up to the TechRadar Pro newsletter to get
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"The utilization of accumulated data" would become Japan's "winning
strategy," he said, framing global competition as a contest over accessible datasets rather than raw computing power alone.

The government plans to build data infrastructure for physical AI and robots that reflects the country's own industrial strengths.

It will lean on decades of experience operating machinery in hazardous or labour-scarce environments nationwide. What to read next China buys an army
of civilian robots as Americas electricity grid creaks 'They're building each other': new 1X Neo robot video shows the humanoids assisting in the robot production process, just as all science fiction foretold Chinese robotics company Agibot says in some jobs, workers want to be replaced by humanoids International partnerships and regional ambitions Officials have confirmed a collaborative arrangement with research institutions in the US, Canada,
France and the UK to support development of the base model.

The resulting technology will reportedly be made available widely to Japanese AI developers, businesses and eventual users across multiple industries and regions.

According to officials briefed on the plan, some companies are expected to
use the platform as a foundation for expanding into foreign markets in later years.

The minister also linked the strategy to broader efforts encouraging
AI-driven transformation originating from regional areas outside Japan's
major metropolitan centres, rather than concentrating growth in Tokyo alone.

Japan's ageing population and restrictive migration policies continue
creating labour shortages across industries struggling to recruit sufficient numbers of workers.

Policymakers increasingly view automation as a practical response because
many vacancies remain difficult to fill through conventional hiring efforts alone.

Supporters frequently argue that robots are filling roles unavailable to
human workers rather than directly replacing existing employees across industries.

The revised strategy therefore includes medical care responsibilities alongside duties within food production and beverage manufacturing environments across the country.

South Korea announced a comparable robotics ambition this week, adding a competitive dimension to the wider regional picture as both countries pursue sovereign AI capabilities.

Whether those ambitions become reality may depend less upon announcements
than sustained investment, technical progress, and broader public acceptance domestically.

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