Call for Applicants for Ninth Robot Awards Program to be Extended

Japan Trade Information

June 5, 2020

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and the Japan Machinery Federation (JMF)  hold the Ninth Robot Awards in collaboration with the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC), the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology (MEXT), the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare (MHLW), the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries (MAFF), and the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism (MLIT), and METI and JMF started the call for  applicants for the program on April 7, 2020. However, due to the impacts of the novel coronavirus, the call for applicants will now be extended. The period of the call will now run from June 5th (Fri) to August 31st (Mon).

Outline

The Robot Awards program is an initiative aiming to facilitate the development of robot technologies and the social implementation of robots in Japan. This program will recognize outstanding companies and other organizations engaging in efforts for pioneering use, research and development, human resource development and other actions involving robots and other advanced technologies which are expected to significantly contribute to creating new markets in the future.

Inaugurated in FY2006 as the first awards program, the Robots Awards has been held once every other year since FY2008, and this will be the ninth program this year.

METI and the JMF have been calling for applicants for the Ninth Robot Awards program since April 7 (Tue.), 2020, and were scheduled to close the call on June 5 (Fri.), 2020. However, they decided to extend the period of the call until August 31 (Mon.), 2020, as they have received correspondence from potential applicants that due to the coronavirus, they cannot complete sufficient preparations for filing an application in due time. In line with this, the winners of the Minister’s Awards and other awards will be finalized in early 2021.

Future schedule

  • August 31 (Mon.), 2020: Closing the call
  • Around January and February 2021: Finalizing and announcing the winners of the Minister’s Awards and other awards