Ⅰ. Introduction — The Colors of Work

We often hear the terms “blue-collar” and “white-collar.”

I’ve always disliked those colors.

Somehow, society decided that blue matters less than white.

Yet, without blue hands, no machine, no system, no society would keep running.

A small story comes to mind.

When I was a college student,I worked at a convenience store as part timer. I often chatted with a regular customer — a night-shift construction worker.

He was one of those people who literally kept the lights on while the city slept.

My manager once told me, “You don’t need to talk to people like that. I’ll introduce you to someone from headquarters instead.”

That was when I realized how deeply the hierarchy of colors had been built into our world.

Ⅱ. Automation as a Symptom, Not a Cause

Automation didn’t appear because humans love efficiency.

It appeared because society could no longer sustain its own contradictions.

Everyone wanted to be “white.” Fewer people wanted to work with their hands.

And when the blue disappeared, machines had to replace it.

Yaskawa Electric is already walking right through the center of that road.

In October, two announcements made it clear how far Japan has gone in preparing for a world without workers.

NVIDIA, the U.S. semiconductor giant, announced a partnership with Fujitsu to develop an AI platform that enables robots to move autonomously on factory floors.

Yaskawa Electric joined the collaboration — a quiet but strategic move that ties Japan’s industrial base directly into the heart of the global AI ecosystem.

It’s no longer about just making robots; it’s about teaching them to think, adapt, and co-work.

On the same day, Yaskawa revealed its acquisition of Tokyo Robotics, a humanoid robot startup from Waseda University.

The company’s robots move on wheels and perform precise tasks with two arms — the physical form of automation’s next chapter.

President Masahiro Ogawa commented:

“The value of humanoid robots will begin to emerge within two to three years. With AI evolution, they are finally becoming practical.”

These moves show where Yaskawa stands:

not waiting for the post-labor era — building it.

Its robots may soon carry both the precision of Japanese engineering and the learning capacity of AI,

bridging the gap between the world that’s vanishing and the one we’re about to face.

Automation is not about replacing people — it’s about replacing dependency.

Ⅲ. Reindustrialization Without Workers

Here’s the irony: automation could bring factories back to countries that once lost them.

Take Australia.

When Toyota, Ford, and GM withdrew by 2017, the country became the only advanced economy without a domestic car industry.

The reason was simple — labor costs were too high, and scale was too small.

But in an age of full automation, labor costs fade away.

Imagine a scenario:

Toyota and Yaskawa collaborate on a fully automated plant in Australia.

Steel and lithium come from Japanese-owned mines in Western Australia, processed by Japanese technology,

feeding a domestic market hungry for EVs and sustainable manufacturing.

Japan would, quietly, rebuild the supply chain — not through labor, but through logic.

Automation, in this sense, becomes a geopolitical tool:

a way for population-sparse nations to sustain sovereignty,

and for Japan to reduce its dependency on volatile global labor flows.

Ⅳ. Beyond Efficiency — The Question of Meaning

If we lose blue in this society,

what comes next?

Part of white might turn into the new blue.

Because “white” already includes hundreds of shades of white —

did you know that?

Automation may redefine labor, but it won’t erase color.

In this future, do you bet or not?

I already did.

Disclaimer

This article reflects personal views and analysis for informational purposes only. It should not be considered investment advice. Readers should conduct their own research or consult with licensed professionals before making investment decisions