{"id":17961,"date":"2026-05-06T11:59:05","date_gmt":"2026-05-06T11:59:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/17961\/"},"modified":"2026-05-06T11:59:05","modified_gmt":"2026-05-06T11:59:05","slug":"baggage-bots-chinese-humanoid-robots-roll-into-japans-airports-amid-labour-shortage","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/17961\/","title":{"rendered":"Baggage bots: Chinese humanoid robots roll into Japan\u2019s airports amid labour shortage"},"content":{"rendered":"<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">China-made humanoid robots are beginning to gain traction in Japan, with models from Chinese firms Unitree and UBTech being deployed by Japan Airlines for baggage and cargo handling, highlighting the growing adoption of Chinese robotics technology as Japan grapples with acute labour shortages.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Japan Airlines said last week that it would launch a two-year trial using humanoid robots for ground-handling operations at Tokyo\u2019s Haneda Airport through a partnership with GMO AI &amp; Robotics.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Tasks in the trial would include aircraft towing, baggage and cargo loading and unloading, as well as cabin cleaning, according to a joint statement.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">The experiment is scheduled to begin this month and continue through 2028.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">According to reports by Asia Business Daily and CNBC, the trial would use Unitree\u2019s G1 humanoid robot and UBTech\u2019s Walker E model.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Hangzhou-based Unitree and Shenzhen-based UBTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday.<\/p>\n<p datatype=\"p\" data-qa=\"Component-Component\" class=\"e8zc9q40 css-1c6uqr6 ec74h0k1\">Unitree\u2019s G1 stands about 1.3 metres tall and weighs roughly 35kg. The robot is designed with agile movement capabilities suited to industrial operations and logistics handling. UBTech\u2019s Walker E is a humanoid robot that stands 1.72 metres tall and weighs 73kg.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"China-made humanoid robots are beginning to gain traction in Japan, with models from Chinese firms Unitree and UBTech&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":17962,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[14250,14252,12,14246,14251,14248,6874,2568,8,2220,33,14249,14247,14254,10990,14255,14253],"class_list":["post-17961","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-japan","tag-asia-business-daily","tag-bebop","tag-china","tag-cnbc","tag-counterpoint","tag-gmo-ai-robotics-corporation","tag-haneda-airport","tag-honda","tag-japan","tag-japan-airlines","tag-nihon","tag-nikkei-asia","tag-southwest-airlines","tag-ubtech","tag-unitree","tag-university-of-tsukuba-hospital","tag-zeals"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17961","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=17961"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/17961\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/17962"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=17961"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=17961"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/japan\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=17961"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}