The year is 2025, and more and more of Japan's workforce is becoming too old to carry on their duties. By 2030, a thinktank projects, that workforce may be shrink by 16%, unchallenged by the low fertility rate of 1.3 babies per woman. It's only fitting that robots, who battle for Japan's safety almost daily on Japanese television, will swoop in to save the country.
Aforementioned thinktank Machine Industry Memorial Foundation projected that robots could fill nearly 3.5 million jobs in Japan. The 'bots would take on all manner of tasks, from vacuuming halls to caring for the elderly — the latter of which could save Japan an estimated $21 billion since the elderly wouldn't need human care workers monitoring them. This would also cause the aging population to be less of a burden.
In other news, the current fertility rate in the United States is 2.1335 births per woman. Keep 'em coming!
Via Reuters
editor@dvice.com
By Blink at 5:28 AM ON 04/10/08
other countries facing labour shortages increase immigration, which gives jobs and income to people from poorer countries. but japan would rather spend a fortune on robots than allow non-japanese into their country.