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Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and "Glocal" Influences and Applications

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J. Robertson and M. Nørskov, Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and “Glocal” Influences and Applications,
in: Envisioning Robots in Society – Power, Politics, and Public Space: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2018
/ TRANSOR 2018, M. Coeckelbergh, J. Loh, M. Funk, J. Seibt, and M. Nørskov, eds., IOS Press, Amsterdam,
2018, pp. 233-237.

Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and

“Glocal” Influences and Applications
Jennifer ROBERTSONa and Marco NØRSKOVb,c,1
a
Departments of Anthropology and History of Art, Robotics Institute, University of
Michigan, USA
b
Department of Philosophy and the History of Ideas, Research Unit for Robophiloso-
phy, Aarhus University, Denmark
c
Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories, Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute In-
ternational, Japan

Abstract. Technology, including robotics, and culture are intertwined and even mu-
tually constitutive processes. Both technology and culture operate on many levels
that are categorized for the purposes of this workshop as global, local, and ‘glocal.’
As evident in popular and scholarly media, robots made in Japan are often described
as inseparably bound to Japanese culture whereas robots made in Europe or the
United States are treated as if immune from local/cultural influences and priorities.
Our workshop will problematize and fine-tune the category of ‘Japanese robots’ by
exploring robots designed and manufactured in Japan AND deployed in local, global,
and ‘glocal’ contexts and environments. In addition to providing empirical infor-
mation on new directions and applications in robotics, a key objective of the work-
shop is the development of a method of researching and representing robots and
robotics that is attentive and sensitive to both the intersections and divergences of
local and global, and ‘glocal,’ applications.

Keywords. Japan, robotics, application contexts, cultural influences, methodology

1. Introduction and Topics

The conspicuous presence of science fiction and real world robots have earned Japan the
epithet “robot kingdom” [1]. Automation was favored over replacement migration in
postwar Japan, and industrial robots played a crucial role in securing the global domi-
nance of Japanese automobiles. Humanoid robots were developed as early as the late
1960s; the government’s Humanoid Robot Project launched in 1998 quickened the man-
ufacture and popularity of anthropomorphic robots and associated spinoff industries,
such as optics, haptics, new synthetic materials, sensors, exoskeletons, surveillance de-
vices, and most recently, weapons. Today, robotics is promoted by the government as
the industry that will secure the recovery and future of the Japanese economy. Moreover,
robot-based video games, animation, manga, and vocaloid idols, are integral components
of Japanese soft-power initiatives deployed internationally. Indeed, the robotics industry
undergirds Japanese domestic and foreign policies alike [2, 3].

1
Marco Nørskov. Department of Philosophy and the History of Ideas, Research Unit for Robophiloso-
phy, Aarhus University, Jens Chr. Skousvej 7, 8000 Aarhus C, Denmark. E-mail: filmanp@cas.au.dk.
J. Robertson and M. Nørskov, Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and “Glocal” Influences and Applications,
in: Envisioning Robots in Society – Power, Politics, and Public Space: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2018
/ TRANSOR 2018, M. Coeckelbergh, J. Loh, M. Funk, J. Seibt, and M. Nørskov, eds., IOS Press, Amsterdam,
2018, pp. 233-237.

Technology, including robotics, and culture are intertwined and even mutually con-
stitutive processes [4]. Both technology and culture operate on many levels that are cat-
egorized for the purposes of this workshop as global, local, and ‘glocal.’ As evident in
popular and scholarly media, robots made in Japan are often described as inseparably
bound to Japanese culture whereas robots made in Europe or the United States are treated
as if immune from local/cultural influences and priorities. The presentation of various
aspects of robotics in Japan is more often than not complicated by layers of “techno-
orientalism” [5] (of both Japanese and Eurocentric origins) reiterated in the form of ste-
reotypical framings such as the “uniquely Japanese” attitudes toward robots, which are
often contrasted to empirical findings presented as “universal” [6, 8, 5]. But it is equally
the case that the operation of ‘techno-occidentalism’ in robotics has remained self-evi-
dent and unmarked, or universally relevant.
Our workshop problematized and fine-tuned the category of ‘Japanese robots’ by
exploring robots designed and manufactured in Japan AND deployed in local, global,
and ‘glocal’ contexts and environments. Collectively, we separated for analytical pur-
poses the various agents (designers, engineers, users) and applications (rehabilitation,
manufacturing, surveillance, entertainment, weaponry) comprising the robotics industry
(or industries) in Japan. In addition to providing empirical information on new directions
and applications in robotics, a key objective of the workshop is the development of a
method of researching and representing robots and robotics that is attentive and sensitive
to both the intersections and divergences of local and global, and ‘glocal,’ applications.

2. Topics

The following topics comprised the core of the workshop (for biographical information
on the speakers please refer to section 3).

• Military Robot Applications beyond Post-War Pacifist Norms? Japanese

Robotics at a Crossroads. (Hironori Matsuzaki)
My paper addresses a significant shift in Japanese robotics triggered by recent
changes in domestic science policy. A government program to promote dual-
use research has (re)kindled a controversy over pacifist norms within local ac-
ademia and has posed the question of how to draw a sharp line between science
and military. The problem of ‘dual use’ becomes all the more crucial for robot-
ics, especially because its products are developed as versatile apparatuses that
potentially find wide-ranging applications. Using the concept of ‘institutional-
ized set use,’ I analyze how Japanese roboticists cope with challenges emerging
from this development.
• Android Robotics and the Conceptualization of Human Beings. (Marco
Nørskov and Anemone Platz)
Japan has for decades been a first-mover and pacemaker with respect to the
development of humanoid and android robots [1]. In this conceptual paper, we
aim to demonstrate how certain android robotic projects can be embedded and
interpreted within a Japanese notion of nature, where the artificial is not op-
J. Robertson and M. Nørskov, Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and “Glocal” Influences and Applications,
in: Envisioning Robots in Society – Power, Politics, and Public Space: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2018
/ TRANSOR 2018, M. Coeckelbergh, J. Loh, M. Funk, J. Seibt, and M. Nørskov, eds., IOS Press, Amsterdam,
2018, pp. 233-237.

posed to nature and where conventionalized idealizations in general are cher-

ished over original state of the latter [7]. Furthermore, we will discuss how an-
droid robots epitomize challenges to the macro and micro levels of society.
• Hegemonic Bipedalism: Cultures of Robotic Exoskeletons in Japan and
the United States. (Jennifer Robertson)
This paper explores the types of bodies privileged and enhanced by the makers
of robotic exoskeletons and the premium placed on bipedalism. Differences and
similarities, and areas of overlap, in the wearable robotics industries in Japan
and the United States are explored along with comparisons of products aimed
at local and global consumers. Interrogations about dominant constructions of
bodies and mobility from disability rights activists provide critical perspectives
on the robotic exoskeleton industry.
• Technology for Communication: The Use of Robots in the Treatment of
Autism in Japan. (Junko Teruyama)
During the past ten years, there has been an increasing public interest in the
identification and treatment of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in Japan. Social
robotics has established itself as one of the forerunners in this field, designing
and building robots to elicit interaction and communication. This paper exam-
ines this trend through a critical interrogation of the meaning of ‘social engage-
ment’ aspired by such roboticists.
• ‘Vision Assessment’ of Robot Technology Futures in Japan—A Methodo-
logical Approach for the Analysis of Intersections between Robotics and
Society in Japan. (Cosima Wagner)
Since the beginning of the 2000s the Japanese government has developed and
promoted multiple scenarios for the implementation of robotics technology into
everyday life, especially but not limited to the field of elderly care. This paper
discusses the methodological approach of ‘technology futures’ research (Tech-
nikzukünfte-Forschung) and its usefulness for the analysis of intersections be-
tween robotics and society in Japan. By peering into the ‘black box’ of how
processes of science and technology construction proceed, this paper examines
how those processes shape, change, and/or reproduce specific constellations of
societal order and governance.

3. Format & Schedule

The workshop consisted of six short presentations of the topics described above, fol-
lowed by a panel session and an open discussion.

• Introduction (20 min)

• Presentations (5x30 min)
• Panel session/open discussion (40 min)
J. Robertson and M. Nørskov, Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and “Glocal” Influences and Applications,
in: Envisioning Robots in Society – Power, Politics, and Public Space: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2018
/ TRANSOR 2018, M. Coeckelbergh, J. Loh, M. Funk, J. Seibt, and M. Nørskov, eds., IOS Press, Amsterdam,
2018, pp. 233-237.

4. Speakers

The list of invited speakers (in alphabetical order) included researchers at different
stages in their academic careers.

• Hironori Matsuzaki
Senior Researcher, Carl von Ossietzky University of Oldenburg (DE). Cur-
rently engaged in the research on ELS issues of care robotics (within the frame-
work of the project ‘Pflegeinnovationszentrum’—funded by German Federal
Ministry of Education and Research). He has published on a great variety of
topics related to Japanese robotics, such as legal status and social role of an-
thropomorphic robots in Japan. Furthermore, he has conducted ethnographic
research on robotic human science and social robotics in Europe and Japan.
E-mail: hironori.matsuzaki@uni-oldenburg.de
Homepage: www.researchgate.net/profile/Hironori_Matsuzaki3
• Marco Nørskov
Associate professor, Research Unit for Robophilosophy, Aarhus University
(DK) and cooperate researcher, the Hiroshi Ishiguro Laboratories, ATR (JP).
Has published several papers and book chapters on human-robot interaction
with focus on phenomenology and intercultural philosophy, android sci-
ence/philosophy.
E-mail: filmanp@cas.au.dk
Homepage: www.person.au.dk/en/filmanp@cas
• Anemone Platz
Associate professor, School of Culture and Society, sociologist in Japan Studies,
Aarhus University (DK). Her research interest focuses on the effect of changing
family relations on lifestyle and living forms in Japan.
E-mail: ostap@cas.au.dk
Homepage: www.person.au.dk/en/ostap@cas
• Jennifer Robertson
Professor, Departments of Anthropology and History of Art, and affiliate fac-
ulty, Robotics Institute, University of Michigan (USA). An anthropologist of
Japan, Robertson has published several articles exploring aspects of the robotics
industry and human-robot relations in Japan. Her latest book is Robo sapiens
japanicus: Robots, Gender, Family, and the Japanese Nation (University of
California Press, Fall 2017).
E-mail: jennyrob@umich.edu
Homepage: www.jenniferrobertson.info
• Junko Teruyama
Assistant Professor at Faculty of Library, Information and Media Science, Uni-
versity of Tsukuba (JP). She earned her PhD in Anthropology from the Univer-
sity of Michigan in 2014. Her research focus is minorities such as children and
teachers with disabilities in the Japanese school and education system as well
as application of robotic technologies in this context.
 J. Robertson and M. Nørskov, Robotics in Japan: Local, Global, and “Glocal” Influences and Applications,
in: Envisioning Robots in Society – Power, Politics, and Public Space: Proceedings of Robophilosophy 2018
/ TRANSOR 2018, M. Coeckelbergh, J. Loh, M. Funk, J. Seibt, and M. Nørskov, eds., IOS Press, Amsterdam,
2018, pp. 233-237.

E-mail: teruyama@slis.tsukuba.ac.jp
Homepage: www.trios.tsukuba.ac.jp/en/researcher/0000003642
• Cosima Wagner
Scientific Librarian and Research Fellow at the Japanese Studies department
of Freie Universität Berlin (DE). She has extensively studied robots in Japan
from a Science and Technology Studies approach and published various pa-
pers on this topic as well as the book Robotopia Nipponica: Recherchen zur
Akzeptanz von Robotern in Japan (2013, Tectum).
Email: cosima.wagner@fu-berlin.de

References

[1] F.L. Schodt, Inside the Robot Kingdom: Japan, Mechatronics, and the Coming Robotopia, Kodansha
International, 1988.
[2] E. Pauer, Japanische Automaten (karakuri ningyō): Vorläufer der modernen Roboter?,
Technikgeschichte 77 (2010), 321-351.
[3] J. Robertson, Robo Sapiens Japanicus: Robots, Gender, Family and the Japanese Nation, University of
California Press, 2017.
[4] G. Simondon, On the Mode of Existence of Technical Objects, Univocal, 2017
[5] C. Wagner, Robotopia Nipponica: Recherchen zur Akzeptanz von Robotern in Japan, Tectum Verlag,
Marburg, 2013.
[6] C. Bartneck, T. Nomura, T. Kanda, T. Suzuki, and K. Kato, Cultural differences in attitudes towards
robots, in: Proceedings of the AISB Convention: Symposium on Robot Companions: Hard Problems
And Open Challenges In Human-Robot Interaction, Hatfield, 2005.
[7] A. Kalland and P.J. Asquith, Japanese Perceptions of Nature - Ideals and Illusions, in: Japanese Images
of Nature - Cultural Perspectives, A. Kalland and P.J. Asquith, eds., Curzon Press, Richmond, 1997, p.
36.
[8] K.F. MacDorman, S.K. Vasudevan, and C.-C. Ho, Does Japan really have robot mania? Comparing
attitudes by implicit and explicit measures, AI & Society 23 (2009), 485-510.

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