Robots have the run of Tokyo’s Shin-tomi nursing home, which uses 20 different models to care for its residents. The Japanese government hopes it will be a model for harnessing the country’s robotics expertise to help cope with a swelling elderly population and a dwindling workforce.
Allowing robots to help care for the elderly - a job typically seen as requiring a human touch - may be a jarring idea in the West. But many Japanese see them positively, largely because they are depicted in popular media as friendly and helpful.
Plenty of obstacles may hinder a rapid proliferation of elder care robots: high costs, safety issues and doubts about how useful - and user-friendly - they will be.
The Japanese government has been funding development of elder care robots to help fill a projected shortfall of 380,000 specialized workers by 2025.
To nurture the industry, the Japanese government is using a two-pronged approach. The Ministry of Economics, Trade and Investments (METI ) is promoting development, providing 4.7 billion yen ($45 million) in subsidies since 2015.
The labour ministry is spearheading the spread of robots, and spent 5.2 billion yen ($50 million) to introduce them into 5,000 facilities nationwide in the year that ended last March. There is no government data about how many care facilities use robots.
Japanese government officials stress that robots will not replace human caregivers.
