Increased momentum for Japan's robot market.

On June 23, 2005, several outlets carried a Reuters story originating in Tokyo about the plans of a Japanese security company to begin offering robot security services to offices, shopping malls, and banks within a year.

The story pointed out that Japan's population is aging rapidly. According to the Population Reference Bureau (PRB) one in five Japanese is currently over 65, and by 2050, according to the United Nations Population Division's World Population Ageing report, 36.4 percent of the population will be over the age of 65.

What does this mean for the security business?

It means a serious shortage of patrol personnel - typically young, physically fit men.

The problem, however, is indicative of a wider social problem illustrated by a mid-April 2005 documentary aired by the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The documentary featured an elderly Japanese woman whose large family had gradually died leaving her alone in the family's farmhouse. Each night, the woman turns to an interactive doll on the pillow beside her and is bid "good night".

The market for such interactive dolls among the elderly in Japan is large and growing, according to the BBC.

But, when added to facts supplied by an Associated Press (AP) story, carried by the Lexington-Herald Leader (Lexington, KY USA) and many other news providers, it appears that interactive dolls may be the precursor for an emerging personal robotics market in Japan.

The Leader story was essentially a report on a widely covered robot exhibition in Nagakute early in June 2005. The expo featured robots that could hit fastballs, draw portraits and appear to be breathing. Aside from the dramatics, the story also reported on a consensus developed by the Japan Robot Association among government officials, researchers, and corporate executives, that the personal robotics market in Japan - in contrast to industrial robots, already a widespread phenomenon - would amount to US$14-billion by 2010 and US$37-billion by 2025.

Personal robots, following the pattern of the interactive doll market, would be employed to care for Japan's ageing population, provide companionship, and fill manpower needs.

The developing robotics market is compatible with the visionary report on Japan's prospects featured in Market: Asia Pacific last month. (See "Japan looks ahead to 2030", 14:6, page 4.)

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