SlashNOT

Matthew writes: The Japanese government has been quietly seeding hundreds of research projects into robotic technology. Each company starts up producing cutesy home-helper robots that are mostly useless, and develops into an industrial manufacturer of somewhat more useful devices.

Japanese citizens have joined in the fun, forming robot pilot clubs to learn how to drive the devices and gain experience in their use.

“I would like to assure our neighbors in the Pacific rim, especially the United States and China, that these robots are being developed and manufactured in mass for benign purposes such as search and rescue, and in no way indicate a return to Japan’s Glorious Imperial past of divinely inspired valorous conquest of the world’s inferior races. There is nothing for anyone to worry about in Japan.”

“At current manufacturing rates, we will have one rescue robot for every member of the Japanese Self Defense Force, thus relieving humans of the dangers of search and rescue, fire suppression, and preemptive defense.”