news Private-public initiative looks to boost Japan's robot staff uptake with standardized shops The Mainichi TOKYO -- Robots are starting to take the place of human workers at supermarkets and convenience stores, but while it's hoped their introduction will be labor saving, the high cost of order-made ones is putting a limit on their wider uptake. In response to the issue, rival companies, along with a government body, have come together to start a public-private initiative to standardize specifications for robots. The term shared among them for the project is "robot work-style reforms." But what does this mean? The Mainichi Shimbun went to find out more.