The automotive industry is the largest market (36%) for industrial robots in Japan and the country is the top manufacturer of the equipment, supplying 52% of global needs across all industries.
"Japan is a highly robotised country where even robots are assembled by robots," said Joe Gemma, president of the International Federation of Robotics (IFR).
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"Statistics show automation strongly boosts exports and domestic investments as well – robot sales in Japan increased by 10% to about 39,000 units in 2016 – reaching the highest level in the last 10 years."
IFR said car manufacturers bought 48% more industrial robots last year (5,711) than in 2015.
It said Japanese firms led production of hybrid cars and would increase spending on automated driving technology. The development of new materials which reduce weight and save energy would also foster investments in robot automation though the ongoing reduction of production capacities in Japan would impact domestic demand for robots.
Investments abroad, on the other hand, would continue to increase as the Japanese expand factories overseas, particularly in China, as well as other Asian countries and in the United States and Mexico.
Japan exported 115,000 industrial robots in 2016 worth JPY309bn (US$2.7bn). North America, China, the Republic of Korea and Europe were key export destinations. Japanese imports of robots were extremely low, only about 1% of installations. The home market has recovered since the financial crisis in 2009 and reached 39,000 units, the highest since 2006 (37,000).
After strong growth of robots in the electrical/electronics industry in 2015 (11,659 units), a decrease of 7% followed in 2016 as the industry has preferred to invest outside Japan. Continued robot purchase is expected with the increasing demand for chips, displays, sensors, batteries and other technologies around electromobility, and industry 4.0 (connected industries).
The two most important customer groups of industrial robots in Japan – automotive and electrical/electronics – jointly accounted for 64% of robot sales in 2016 as sales to both sectors increased 8%.
