Is the Growing Robot Revolution Killing Jobs in Japan?

When the beautiful Erica, a humanoid robot talked to a man at the International Conference on Intelligent Robots held last month in Madrid, Spain, the audience marveled at her uncanny human appearance and communication skills. She and many others like her are the prime focus of researchers in Japan, who are trying to understand how humanoid robots can be integrated freely into the world, to work alongside humans. The country which is considered a leader in tech and robotics is now witnessing a robot revolution -- everything from sex dolls to humanoid and industrial robots. According to the 2017 report of International Federation of Robotics (IFR), "The world now includes approximately 1.1 million working robots and machines account for 80 percent of the work in manufacturing a car." The report highlights that in 2016, robot sales in Japan increased by 10 percent to about 38,600 units, reaching the highest level since 2006 (37,400 units).