Is the human worker becoming nothing more than a drag on economic rationality?
As a strategic consultant, a single headline recently sent a chill down my spine.
On February 28, 2025, the Beijing Economic-Technological Development Area (Beijing E-Town) released a “recruitment” notice that defied convention.
They weren’t looking for people.
They were calling for an army of over 10,000 robots.
This is not a mere incremental step in factory automation.
It is a declaration of war—a state-backed maneuver to fundamentally rewrite the “Workforce Portfolio” of a nation.
While Japan remains mired in an aging crisis, desperately seeking salvation in migrant labor or outdated DX (Digital Transformation) frameworks, our neighbor is deploying a “steel infrastructure.”
These workers do not complain, do not fatigue, and operate with 24/7 precision.
Fueled by massive capital injection, this is the new “Social OS.”
As a top consultant globally, I can state with certainty: this is not science fiction. As we enter 2026—the definitive Year One of Robotics—this reality is already eroding the very foundations of Japan’s industrial pride.
