Robots replacing warehouse workers in Japan

In the face of an acute labor shortage, Japan is actively testing automation of warehouses and deliveries. According to the Financial Times, the country is considering robotization as one of the ways to maintain the previous pace of logistics and compensate for the decline in the number of employees.

The number of robots at Amazon’s warehouse in Chiba city already exceeds two thousand employees. Thanks to automation, the capacity of the facility is 40% higher than in conventional warehouses. The company also introduced a new automatic packaging machine and a sorting system that allows combining several goods into one package.

Other applications of robots

However, experts note that bringing robots to the streets for direct delivery is still much more difficult. The country is facing a severe shortage of truck drivers: according to Nomura Research Institute, by 2030 their number will decrease by a third to about 480,000. Amazon is considering a transition from large distribution centers to smaller hubs closer to customers, where robots can perform more tasks of packaging and sorting.

The company is also launching an artificial intelligence system, DeepFleet, which manages robots in warehouses and increases their speed by about 10%. At the same time, Japanese logistics giants such as Nippon Express are introducing innovations more cautiously due to the high cost, variety of goods and specific customer requests. Most projects still remain demonstration projects, and companies are assessing their economic benefits.

According to analysts, in 2024 the warehouse automation market in Japan reached $1.28 billion. Until 2030 it is planned to grow by more than 21% annually. The main profit is still brought by equipment, but the fastest growing segment is the software segment.

The main obstacles to the large-scale implementation of robotics are the high cost of integration into existing facilities, the complex architecture of Japanese warehouses with small areas and multi-level layouts, as well as the relatively slow development of e-commerce. In Japan, online sales occupy less than 10% of the retail market, which is significantly lower than in Europe.

To compensate for the labor shortage, logistics companies are even considering the possibility of hiring foreign drivers. The service sector is experiencing similar problems: some Japanese cafes already employ robot waiters in the form of cats, which emphasizes the large-scale demographic challenges for the country.