Japan lays groundwork for boom in robot carers

Japanese government wants to increase acceptance of technology that could help fill the gap in
the nursing workforce

Daniel Hurst in Tokyo

Mon 5 Feb 2018 21.19 EST

Japan’s elderly are being told to get used to being looked after by robots.

With Japan’s ageing society facing a predicted shortfall of 370,000 caregivers by 2025, the
government wants to increase community acceptance of technology that could help fill the gap in
the nursing workforce.

Developers have focused their efforts on producing simple robotic devices that help frail residents
get out of their bed and into a wheelchair, or that can ease senior citizens into bathtubs.

But the government sees a wider range of potential applications and recently revised its list of
priorities to include robots that can predict when patients might need to use the toilet.

Dr Hirohisa Hirukawa, director of robot innovation research at Japan’s National Institute of

Advanced Industrial Science and Technology, said the aims included easing the burden on
nursing staff and boosting the autonomy of people still living at home.
“Robotics cannot solve all of these issues; however, robotics will be able to make a contribution to
some of these difficulties,” he said.

Hirukawa said lifting robotics had so far been deployed in only about 8% of nursing homes in
Japan, partly because of the cost and partly because of the “the mindset by the people on the
frontline of caregiving that after all it must be human beings who provide this kind of care”.

He added: “On the side of those who receive care, of course initially there will be psychological
resistance.”

Hirukawa’s research centre has worked on a government-backed project to help 98 manufacturers

test nursing-care robotic devices over the past five years, 15 of which have been developed into
commercial products.

In the interests of lowering cost and complexity, these types of robots do not yet resemble
humans or talk to users, but deploy smart technology to help people in specific situations.

One example is an electric-boosted mobility aid that a person can hold onto when walking around
city streets.

The sensors detect if the user is going uphill and a booster function is activated. When the walker
is detected going downhill, an automatic brake kicks in to reduce falls.

“In Japan we already have motor-supported bicycles so it is like a version of an assist for walking,”
Hirukawa said during a demonstration at the Foreign Press Center Japan.

The next research priorities include wearable mobility aid devices and technology that guides
people to the toilet at what it predicts is the right time.

According to Japan’s robot strategy, the government hopes that four in five care recipients accept
having some support provided by robots by 2020.

Since you’re here …

… we have a small favour to ask. More people are reading the Guardian than ever but advertising
revenues across the media are falling fast. And unlike many news organisations, we haven’t put
up a paywall – we want to keep our journalism as open as we can. So you can see why we need to
ask for your help. The Guardian’s independent, investigative journalism takes a lot of time,
money and hard work to produce. But we do it because we believe our perspective matters –
because it might well be your perspective, too.

I appreciate there not being a paywall: it is more democratic for the media to be available for all and
not a commodity to be purchased by a few. I’m happy to make a contribution so others with less
means still have access to information. Thomasine F-R.
If everyone who reads our reporting, who likes it, helps fund it, our future would be much more
secure. For as little as $1, you can support the Guardian – and it only takes a minute. Thank you.

Support the Guardian

Topics
Japan