One-Third of Japan Firms Adopt or Eye AI Robots, Boosting Japan 225 Outlook

A Reuters/Nikkei survey released May 20 shows one-third of Japanese companies are using or considering AI-powered robots, with transportation-equipment makers leading at 80% adoption interest. This follows Fanuc’s May 13 Google Gemini partnership and December 2025 NVIDIA collaboration, plus METI’s planned ¥1 trillion five-year funding package to commercialize physical AI. Corporate cash reserves reached ¥83 trillion in 2024, potentially supporting robotics demand and index gains for Japan 225 industrial names.