Even If Manufacturers Want to Bring Production Back Home, There Aren't Enough Workers—Frontlines of Japan's 'Autonomous Factories' Supporting a Labor-Short Nation After the Baby Boomer Retirement

RX Japan LLC (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Executive Officer and President: Takeshi Tanaka) will host the "38th Monozukuri World [Tokyo]" at Tokyo Big Sight from Wednesday, July 1, 2026 to Friday, July 3, 2026, spanning three days.

There aren't enough people. But production must happen domestically.

The 2026 White Paper on Manufacturing highlights that labor shortages and challenges in technical succession within the manufacturing industry remain severe. On-site, the situation has expanded beyond just "a lack of workers"—there is now also "a lack of people to train others." While small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) continue efforts to retain skilled personnel through re-employment and extended service, sustainable solutions are urgently needed.

Meanwhile, due to unstable international conditions, economic security concerns, and the need for resilient supply chains, the trend of "reshoring"—bringing manufacturing bases back to Japan—is gaining momentum. However, the reality is that even if companies wish to produce domestically, there is a shortage of human resources to support such operations. The dual challenge facing manufacturing sites today is clear: the need to manufacture domestically is increasing, yet there are not enough people to run the factories.

The solution: Autonomous manufacturing processes

In recent years, technologies designed with labor shortages in mind—such as autonomous mobile robots (AMRs), collaborative robots, and AI-based inspection systems—are being increasingly adopted. Robots and AI are now taking over or supporting tasks previously performed by humans, such as "transporting," "inspecting," and "monitoring," enabling factories to operate stably even with fewer staff. Additionally, the spread of DX (digital transformation) solutions is allowing organizations to capture, store, and share veteran technicians' experience and intuition as organizational assets.

Highlight 1|Automation and Labor Reduction: Building factories that keep running even with fewer people

Highlight 2|DX and Digitization: Preserving and utilizing skills and judgment

Highlight 3|Supply chains and processing technologies supporting domestic reshoring

Japan's manufacturing vision toward 2040

Japanese manufacturing has long excelled in its ability to respond precisely to diverse customer needs and in the deep experience and intuition accumulated by veteran technicians. Going forward, it is expected that by integrating these strengths with AI and digital technologies, Japan can simultaneously advance both reshoring and automation. Monozukuri World [Tokyo] offers a venue to experience this future not as a mere concept, but as today's reality in implementation.

References: Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare, Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, "2026 White Paper on Manufacturing"

Mizuho Bank, Industry Research Department, Mizuho Industry Research Vol.80 "Reshoring and Automation in Manufacturing: Winning Strategies for Capital Goods Industries Amid Economic Security and Labor Shortage Trends"

Highlight 1|Automation and Labor Reduction: Building factories that keep running even with fewer people

The exhibition will feature numerous automation and labor-saving technologies designed with labor shortages in mind, including autonomous transport systems and robotics. Visitors can see concrete products and solutions that enable factories to operate without increasing headcount—such as systems that advance production processes without constant human supervision and innovations that reduce dependency on individual workers' expertise.

<Selected Exhibits>

Next-generation AMR for transport contributing to improved productivity and addressing labor shortages

With a maximum load capacity of 600kg, this next-generation autonomous mobile robot (AMR) automatically detects storage locations, smoothly slides under shelves or transported items, and accurately delivers them to destinations. It significantly advances automation and labor reduction in transport operations, contributing to improved on-site productivity and alleviating labor shortages.

[Company: SoftBank Robotics Corp., Booth Number: S11-28]

Advancing manufacturing sites with Physical AI × Humanoid Robots

A humanoid robot designed for safety and stability—priorities in Japanese manufacturing. Avoiding bipedal walking, it ensures stable movement designed for box transport, enabling safe operation in shared human workspaces. Humanoid robots capable of replicating human arm movements, viewpoints, and work motions are attracting attention.

[Company: YATOMI Engine Corp., Booth Number: S15-22]

AI conducts real-time inspection of moving products

In addition to appearance inspection, this system automatically and in real time detects abnormalities in operation and lighting while the product is in motion, identifying "motion defects" that would be missed in static image inspections. All inspection results are automatically recorded and saved with marked anomaly locations, which can also be used for post-shipment complaint handling.

[Company: Yamato System Development Co., Ltd., Booth Number: S2-27]

Highlight 2|DX and Digitization: Preserving and utilizing skills and judgment

Initiatives to pass veteran expertise and intuition to the next generation are expanding through the accumulation and utilization of on-site data—such as design data, production conditions, inspection results, and maintenance history—combined with AI-assisted decision-making. Technologies supporting the "brain" of manufacturing sites, including design DX, production DX, and digitalized equipment maintenance, will be gathered here, offering practical solutions that simultaneously achieve skill succession and productivity improvement.

<Selected Exhibits>

Proposing a new model of estimation work through human-AI collaboration

An all-in-one AI service for manufacturing. It centrally consolidates drawing management, cost estimation, and on-site knowledge, preserving technicians' skills and know-how as digital assets. The AI learns from human operators' modifications and judgments, improving estimation accuracy with repeated use.

[Company: Takumikiken Kogyo Co., Ltd., Booth Number: W8-46]

Verbalizing veteran technicians' intuition and judgment, eliminating "Where was that drawing again?"

A solution combining "See AI," which verbalizes veteran technicians' decision timing and detects risks just by uploading videos; "Listen AI," which facilitates maintenance support; and "Find AI," which reduces search time by 90% and enables even new employees to create estimates on par with veterans.

[Company: Sentinel Systems Inc., Booth Number: E38-32]

End-to-end support for on-site data: collection, storage, analysis, and utilization

A service that extracts and mathematically models veteran workers' intuition, enabling ultra-fast processing and automatically generating optimized production schedules. The service supports on-site data utilization from building data collection infrastructure to AI-powered image analysis for quality control and predictive maintenance through data analytics.

[Company: Data For Seas Inc., Booth Number: E37-30]

Highlight 3|Supply chains and processing technologies supporting domestic reshoring

From the perspectives of economic security and supply chain resilience, the importance of domestic production systems is growing. The exhibition will gather key players in Japan's manufacturing supply chain, including providers of high-precision machining technologies, components, materials, and proposals from regional manufacturing companies. Visitors can see the current state of Japan's domestic production capabilities needed in the era of reshoring. This year, 56 organizations from local governments across Japan will exhibit.

<Selected Exhibiting Organizations>

Press Briefing Information (Pre-registration Required)

Press registration: https://www.manufacturing-world.jp/tokyo/ja-jp/media/press-registration.html

――― Feel free to contact us ―――

• We welcome advance consultations regarding interview targets or themes

• Press visits on June 30 (the day before the event) may be accommodated upon schedule coordination by the secretariat

• We will do our best to accommodate press inquiries on event days

Please feel free to contact us

Press opportunities at the exhibition include:

• Coverage of the latest manufacturing trends such as Physical AI, AI robotics, automation, and labor reduction

• Frontline reporting on 3D printing applications (e.g., Japan's first domestic adoption in OEM parts for LEXUS LC500)

• Features on the "artisan skills" of local machine shops supporting humanoid robots, medical robots, and endoscopes

• Seminar coverage on featured topics (featuring FANUC, Yaskawa Electric, NVIDIA, and others)

• Interviews with organizers, exhibitors, attendees, and on-site footage

Event Overview

Event Name: 38th Monozukuri World [Tokyo]

Dates: Wednesday, July 1, 2026 – Friday, July 3, 2026, 10:00–17:00

Venue: Tokyo Big Sight (entire facility)

Organizer: RX Japan LLC

Exhibitors: Approx. 2,000 companies (planned) | Visitors: Approx. 70,000 (expected)

Admission: Free (prior visitor registration required)

Official Website: https://www.manufacturing-world.jp/tokyo/ja-jp.html

Venue Layout:

Numerous special programs and networking events will also be held.

【Monozukuri World Networking Events】Held under three themes: "Automation & Labor Reduction / AI Utilization," "Reducing Workload in Design & Machining," "Technical Succession"

【Women in Manufacturing Networking Event】An event fostering connections and collaboration among women working in manufacturing

【Hands-on Corner for Medical Materials】Display of actual models of artificial hip joints and anti-vibration materials (balls and plates) made from Kuraray plastic

【Cybersecurity Consultation Counter】A space to share concerns and consult about cybersecurity issues