Robots could substitute for over 3.5 million human workers by 2025

Friday 04th April, 12:35 AM JST

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14 Comments

spiderman at 10:29 AM JST - 4th April

cool! umm, not really! i hv a feeling i am one of the 3.52 million future jobless people.
greenteaonsens at 11:21 AM JST - 4th April

I like this idea. Mass immigration is an idea of the past and I just wish that America, Canada, Australia and western Europe realize that before they destroy their soieities by letting in too many people who will not assimilate ever.

I support the Japanese in trying to avoid the ill effects of mass immigration.
Notginger at 11:52 AM JST - 4th April

So the robots are going to wait until 2025 and then suddenly replace 3.5 mill workers? Shouldn't it read "by 2025"? Come on JT, isn't this supposed to be an English language website?
franz75 at 12:37 PM JST - 4th April

Sara Connor?
escape_artist at 01:01 PM JST - 4th April

And what real, lasting benefits will actually come out of Japan's robot obsession? Are those so busily creating them or funding them ever asking this? Are these robots going to be paying into the pension fund? For health insurance? What's it going to be like going out to drink after work with a robot, or sharing a beer & the sofa with one to watch the Tigers game after all the housecleaning is done? 74 whole minutes extra a day. Wow. Why do I have the feeling many of the remaining workers in Japan will still be slaving (or feigning work) over their desks those extra minutes, or that women free from housework will now be doing something else rather than working at a company? Is this Japan's secret weapon to get more women into the labor market? I think the guys controlling the labor market have to change their attitudes first about the place that work has in people's lives, for one. No one's talking about robots replacing all the bosses out there.

If more companies offered worthwhile & fulfilling jobs & work where employees were treated like human beings rather than mere cogs, maybe societies like Japan wouldn't be so feverish about escaping from it all into the make-believe world of robots, manga, anime, maid cafes, and whatnot. Technology doesn't solve everything, especially where human relations are concerned. It's amazing what people will do in Japan to avoid hiring real people (and non-Japanese real people. as well) as nurses and in other medical/healthcare fields. But then Honda and other companies are going to have to figure out ways to make money when the world start choking on all the vehicles the and other car companies make and/or oil becomes so precious and scarce that no one can or will want to drive anymore. Robots? Cool? Yeah. But overall, so far I'm not impressed.

And Notginger, yes, it should be "by" here. The "in" vs. "by" mistake is a common problem in Japanese English. I see it pretty often in my work, making me wonder what Japanese schools are teaching. It's not really JT's fault, either. This snippet of an article also came from Kyodo, so I wouldn't expect native-level English. I can easily imagine the old boys at Kyodo being aggressively proud of their particular English style.
spiderman at 05:37 PM JST - 4th April

just realized that robots can work more than humans do, 24/7, thus, minimizing the work-related-suicides...
mareo2 at 10:54 PM JST - 4th April

These means replace humans in menial, repetitive, rote, heavy and dangerous jobs. The kind of job for unskilled workers. But still is an option for the main companies. The medium and small companies are going to rely on inmigrants, but a lower payment. The only problem I see in all these is the tax for the pension system. I dont see how the robots sre going to pay our retirement. Most likely, the gov is going to tax us more for compensate the shortage of taxpayers.
flclkun at 02:34 AM JST - 5th April

robots replace humans in the work field, humans kicked in the nuts by higher taxes to compensate the losses!

i can see the headlines now.
borscht at 08:35 AM JST - 5th April

I suspect the extra 74 minutes of 'leisure time' created by housework-bots will be taken up doing maintenance on housework-bots, cleaning up after leaky 'bots, and taking government-sponsored classes in 'bot upkeep. And, just a guess, but those palatial 74 minutes will also be used in reading manuals, talking to 'bot salesmen, and buying cute Hello-Kitty 'bot accessories down at the Yamada Denki store.
tnstaafl at 10:38 PM JST - 6th April

Stand in line for hours at the unemployment office to finally get to the counter to find an automated clerk.
anderstungtwist at 01:48 PM JST - 8th April

I believe the robots are our future, and we must teach them well and let them lead the way.

It is their aluminum-alloy arms, not ours, that will bear the weight of the problems our generation causes. We must remember that the examples we set today will be the guidelines they take with them into the bright new dawn of tomorrow.

Though our comparatively tiny mammalian brains—limited as they are by organic human failings and a constant need for daily nutritional intake instead of reliance on more efficient non-depletable solar and geothermal energy sources—will no doubt seem pathetically ineffectual compared to the interlinked, continually upgrading cyberminds that will follow in our footsteps, our humble origins will provide the seed for their genesis.

If we can provide them with self-esteem and a feeling that they are loved, they will be equipped to take on any challenge that life presents—such as construction of superfilament-reinforced space elevators in geosynchronous orbit—and do it all with confidence and conviction. If they fail, if they succeed, nothing will take away their dignity.

If we can teach robots to love themselves, that will be the greatest love of all.
notimpressed at 04:30 PM JST - 10th April

thats awesome anderstungtwist. I cant see my screen coz my eyes are misting up.
Aerodynamic at 08:03 AM JST - 15th April

@anderstungtwist: You're right about teaching robots to love eachother, as we humans ALSO know how to "pretend" to love other people.

In short: It's not great for the people who will lose their jobs, even for the people who ARE Japanese!
rajakumar at 03:23 PM JST - 15th April

In the future we may have no pilots/drivers too. Already we have many driverless auto pilot trains and auto pilot planes.

Jobless workers are supposed to start new careers when they are replaced. Japan/others need to start creating other new dynamic careers.

Japan/others needs to start their own version of hollywood industry. Start making/selling great brainy asian world class movies better than the mass of B grade nonsense we are getting from hollywood california movie industry.

Many jobs/careers to be created in future world class movie making industry world in asia/japan.