Prime Minster Shinzo Abe held the first meeting of the Robot Revolution Realization Council at the Prime Minister’s Office.
During the meeting, after a demonstration of robotic technology, discussions were held on the current situation of initiatives and issues facing the realization of the robot revolution.
The Prime Minister said in his opening address,
“Faced with a drop in the working-age population, there is a sense of pessimism that ‘Japan will no longer be able to grow.’ However, we can break through this barrier by taking full advantage of the strengths of every individual Japanese person, including women and the elderly. This is the very essence of the Abe administration’s growth strategy.  
The key will be a new industrial revolution led by robotics.
The potential for using robots can be found not only in manufacturing, but also in a wide variety of other sectors, such as nursing care, lodging, agriculture, and disaster preparedness. On the frontlines of most of these sectors we continue to depend on people to carry out monotonous and arduous tasks. This makes it difficult to secure the necessary human resources and inhibits upward growth in productivity.   
The adoption of robots tailored to the individual needs of each workplace is without a doubt a major trump card that will drive our local economies.
In addition, as excellent sensor and IT technologies emerge, it is clear that the failure to combine these techniques with conventional technology from a wide range of fields, and surpass today’s robotics technology, will mean we will lag behind the global trend.
Now is the time for us to form an all-Japan team that extends beyond the barriers of corporations or government institutions to combine wisdom for us to address these issues.
I hope that the expert members before us today will engage in active discussions on the development of a specific action plan toward this end.”