Japan

Japan faces a labor shortage impact in 2024 as new overtime regulations for truck drivers come into force. This is being called the ‘2024 problem’ – its potential disruptions need technological help. The world´s number one robot manufacturing country is developing automation strategies that will not only target logistical issues but also a wide range of industry challenges the new working time legislation will cause.

Industrial Robot installation in Japan rose by +9% and reached 50,413 units in 2022. This result is exceeding the pre-pandemic level of 49,908 units in 2019. Japan ranks second to China as the largest market for industrial robots worldwide. It is also the predominant industrial robot manufacturing country with a global market share of 46%.

Japan is the world´s number one industrial robot manufacturer – delivering 45% of the global supply. In recent years, the country’s robot suppliers have increased their production capacity considerably: Their export ratio rose to 78% in 2020, when 136,069 industrial robots were shipped. These are results published by the International Federation of Robotics (IFR) during the International Robot Exhibition (iREX) in Tokyo, March 09 to 12, 2022.