At several restaurants in the heart of Tokyo, robotic felines glide effortlessly between tables, balancing trays of steaming dishes. With a flick of the ears and a cheerful “Meow,” robots announce fresh deliveries of foods like parfaits and pizza, often to delighted chuckles from customers. This isn’t science fiction — it’s the changing face of Japan’s hospitality industry.
The cat robots come from Skylark Holdings Co., the country’s largest table-service restaurant chain, which has deployed around 3,000 such robots to help servers manage the relentless pace of a busy shift. But this is far from the only company pushing robots in Japan.
Faced with an aging population and a shrinking workforce, Japanese businesses are turning to automation to keep operations running smoothly. And nowhere is this shift more apparent than in the service industry.
A Workforce in Crisis
Japan has been grappling with demographic problems for years, and the situation is only set to worsen. According to the Recruit Works Institute, the country will face a staggering labor shortage of 11 million workers by 2040. Meanwhile, government-backed projections estimate that by 2065, nearly 40% of Japan’s population will be aged 65 or older. With fewer young people entering the workforce, and immigration in Japan being extremely tight, businesses are being forced to rethink how they operate.
Service robots are proving to be a practical solution. They were initially regarded as more of a novelty than a real solution, but they seem to be working out. These automated helpers are designed to work alongside humans rather than replace them, making it easier for companies to employ older or foreign workers who might otherwise struggle with the physical demands or language barriers of the job.
The market for service robots in Japan is booming. Research firm Fuji Keizai predicts that by 2030, the industry will be worth more than ¥400 billion ($2.7 billion), nearly three times its 2024 value. This surge is driven not only by necessity but also by technological advances that have made robots more efficient and accessible to businesses of all sizes.
These robots are often equipped with 3D sensors that enable navigation in crowded places while carrying heavy trays of foods. Cuteness is one bonus; not paying a salary is another bonus.
But service robots aren’t just limited to restaurants. In an industry facing an even greater crisis — elderly care — automation is becoming a necessity.
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Your Robot Nurse
In elderly care facilities, robots are helping caregivers lift residents, monitor their health, and provide companionship. They can track vital signs and assist in mobility, easing the burden on human staff.
As the country’s population ages, the demand for elder care is rapidly outpacing the number of available caregivers. The nursing sector, struggling to fill positions, had just one applicant for every 4.25 job openings as of December 2024. With projections indicating a worsening shortfall of caregivers, automation is increasingly seen as a lifeline.
One of the latest advancements in this field is AIREC, an AI-driven humanoid robot developed at Waseda University. AIREC can assist caregivers by helping elderly patients roll over, sit up, and even put on socks — tasks that are physically demanding for human workers.
“Given our highly advanced ageing society and declining births, we will be needing robots’ support for medical and elderly care, and in our daily lives,” said Shigeki Sugano, the Waseda University professor leading AIREC’s research with government funding, for Reuters.
At facilities like Zenkoukai in Tokyo, robots are already playing a role, albeit in more limited ways. Some assist by leading residents in stretching exercises, while others act as sleep monitors, tracking vital signs and alerting staff to irregularities. Care workers are cautiously optimistic about the potential of more advanced robotic assistants, especially those equipped with AI capable of adapting to individual patient needs.
“If we have AI-equipped robots that can grasp each care receiver’s living conditions and personal traits, there may be a future for them to directly provide nursing care,” said Takaki Ito, a care worker at Zenkoukai. But, he cautioned, “I don’t think robots can understand everything about nursing care. Robots and humans working together to improve nursing care is a future I am hoping for.”
Acceptance Is Key
It’s not all about jobs and economic considerations. No matter how advanced robots become, their success hinges on one crucial factor: public acceptance. If people don’t want a robot serving their coffee, they won’t have it, no matter how performant the robot is.
This is why Japan is regarded as a test bed for the rest of the world.
Japan has long been a global leader in robotics, and its cultural attitude toward automation is a key reason why. Unlike in some Western countries, where automation is often met with skepticism over fears of job losses, Japan has historically embraced robots as helpers rather than threats. Popular culture, from anime to real-world humanoid robots, has fostered a sense of familiarity and even affection toward machines.
This cultural openness plays a major role in the smooth transition of robots into workplaces. In restaurants, robots should not be competitors for staff, but rather teammates that ease their workload. Similarly, in elder care facilities, robotic aides are being welcomed as a necessity to complement the missing humans. However, for automation to thrive beyond Japan, other societies may need to undergo a shift in perception — one that sees robots as augmenting human efforts rather than replacing them.
Japan’s experience with integrating service robots in restaurants may help shape the future of elder care automation. The key challenge will be ensuring that these machines do more than just execute programmed tasks — that they can adapt, learn, and complement human workers.