Convenience store operator FamilyMart Co. has said it will allow its franchise owners across Japan to shorten operating hours from March, in a bid to address a severe labor shortage during late-night hours. Under the new policy, which will cover nearly 16,000 stores, franchise owners will be able to shut down for part or all of the period from 11 p.m. to 7 a.m. if they notify the headquarters in advance. "It is up to each of our franchise owners to make a decision" to end 24-hour operations, said Takashi Sawada, president of the company, at a news conference in Tokyo on Thursday. Store owners who want to cut operating hours would be able to choose to do so either every day or only on Sundays, according to firm, which is Japan's second-largest convenience store operator based on number of outlets. FamilyMart will also raise its monthly incentive to ¥120,000 ($1,100) from ¥100,000 for stores that maintain around-the-clock operations.

The collapse of low-skilled labor in America continues unabated, thanks in large part to the advancement of robotics, and with it, a wave of coming unrest like nations have not seen in a long, long time. As reported by CNBC, the fast-food industry, in particular, is poised for dramatic changes, with the introduction of electronic kiosks and robotic food preparation that one expert has projected will obliterate human workers in the industry by the mid-2020s. Grilling burgers may be fun on the Fourth of July, but less so if hot grease is your daily grind. The southern California start-up has built a robotic "kitchen assistant" called Flippy to do the hot, greasy and repetitive work of a fry cook. Flippy employs machine learning and computer vision to identify patties on a grill, track them as they cook, flip and then place them on a bun when they're done.