A withering factory town in the rust belt is looking for revival through a dose of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe¡¯s ¡°robot revolution.¡±
Kadoma¡¯s population in Osaka Prefecture has shrunk 13 percent as the nation ages, prompting mergers among elementary schools and emergency services departments. Factories can¡¯t find enough people to run assembly lines, further threatening an industrial base that includes titan Panasonic Corp. and smaller businesses like Izumo Co., a maker of industrial rubber.
Yet Izumo President Tsutomu Otsubo doesn¡¯t believe the solution involves finding more people. He¡¯d rather find more machines to do the work so his company can capitalize on Abe¡¯s plan to quadruple Â鶹´«Ã½ robotics sector into a ?2.4 trillion ($20 billion) industry by 2020.
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