China, Korea, and Japan
Saving East Asia
Too few workers, too many elderly, and too little automation is not a good thing for East Asia
China, Korea, and Japan are suffering the very same “too few, too many, and too little” affliction simultaneously.
Saving East Asia
If Asia was a hospital ward, China, Korea, and Japan would be in isolation. And their affliction is headed west, where every industrialized nation will be hit with a bout of it. Germany and the U.S. narrowly escaped, for now, temporarily saved by their immigration.
Ultimately, however, severity depends on preparedness; so, we’ll need to closely watch and copy what East Asia does and is doing to replace workers, assist the elderly, create housing, feed the millions of dispossessed, and to automate with a vengeance.
Generation Alpha, all two billion of them (born between 2010 and 2024), will start arriving soon (our true all-digital sons and daughters), who along with robotics and AI might well turn the tide for the rest of their lame, pre-digital elders.
In the meantime, with zero Marvel characters anywhere in sight (except on the silver screen…or streaming) to swoop in with a miraculous, last-minute victory for humanity, we’ll have to wait and watch what China, Korea, and Japan are doing.
But is that enough? Saving East Asia, we’ll soon learn, will take all of us.
Here's what we know: Japan is the most recent arrival with a plan...of sorts
Japan Set to Aid Nation’s SMEs (small-to-medium enterprises) in Robotics
Robot Industrial Basic Technology Collaborative Innovation Partnership or ROBOCIP. ROBOCIP: New public-private group “to facilitate the introduction of robots and cobots to nation’s 3.5 million SMEs”
A group of Japanese industrial robot makers made up of Fanuc, Denso, Panasonic Holdings, Yaskawa Electric, Nachi-Fujikoshi, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Epson, Daihen and Mitsubishi Electric will create “a database for sharing information that would let small and midsize enterprises introduce robots up to 60% more cheaply, helping these companies boost productivity. READ MORE>>
China's Plan Is to Spend...Big!
China, well aware of the disastrous consequences ahead if no quick action is taken, will spend. Think, domestic Belt & Road for its “new infrastructure initiative”.
China Back in Business with Industrial Robots
A $1.4 trillion “new infrastructure initiative” has put the buzz back into China’s automation quest. READ MORE>>
China’s “Robot Dividend” Has Three Faces
Will China become the first of the fast-aging industrialized nations to transform a severe onrushing demographic decline into a robot dividend? READ MORE>>
Korea's Plan Amazingly Robust & Smart
With its population expected to drop from 51 million in 2024 to 36 million, Korea has put together a remarkably well-balanced and well-funded public/private plan.
Major Growth Spurt Ahead for Korean Robotics
2023-2026 Korea could leapfrog competition through integration of robotics, AI/ML, and ICT. READ MORE>>
Korea Gets Serious About Robotics
“The government plans to invest $2.3 billion by 2030 to expand the robotics industry to a globally competitive level,” about $329 million annually from 2024-2030. READ MORE>>