Robotics is one of the mainstays of Japanese technology, and as the population ages and the birthrate falls, robots have taken on increased importance as they are seen as one way to make up for the expected labor shortage. Robots of course work in factories, but in addition they are being used to carry out such chores as cleaning or security. There are limits, though-robots used for cleaning tasks, for example, can only operate within a certain area at present because of the limitations of the technology. In order to promote the development of robot technology, I believe it is important that robots are given sufficient recognition, even if at the time of introduction they can only perform at, say, 50% of the capacity of a human in the same job. Robotics is one of those areas where if you just try it out you can then improve on it as you go along.