Baggage bots: Chinese humanoids clock on at Japanese airports amid labour crunch

China-made humanoid robots are beginning to gain traction in Japan, with models from Chinese firms Unitree and UBTech being deployed by Japan Airlines for baggage and cargo handling, highlighting the growing adoption of Chinese robotics technology as Japan grapples with acute labour shortages. Japan Airlines said last week that it would launch a two-year trial using humanoid robots for ground-handling operations at Tokyo’s Haneda Airport through a partnership with GMO AI & Robotics. Tasks in the trial would include aircraft towing, baggage and cargo loading and unloading, as well as cabin cleaning, according to a joint statement. The experiment is scheduled to begin this month and continue through 2028. According to reports by Asia Business Daily and CNBC, the trial would use Unitree’s G1 humanoid robot and UBTech’s Walker E model. Hangzhou-based Unitree and Shenzhen-based UBTech did not immediately respond to requests for comment on Wednesday. Unitree’s G1 stands about 1.3 metres tall and weighs roughly 35kg. The robot is designed with agile movement capabilities suited to industrial operations and logistics handling. UBTech’s Walker E is a humanoid robot that stands 1.72 metres tall and weighs 73kg. Japan Airlines said the trial marked Japan’s first use of humanoid robots in airport operations and came as the country’s aviation industry faced severe labour shortages driven by a shrinking working-age population and a surge in inbound tourism. The airline added that it hoped the experiment would “verify the potential for humanoid robots to achieve labour savings and workload reduction in ground handling operations”. The move comes as more Japanese companies explore the use of Chinese-made robots across a widening range of business applications to help offset the country’s shrinking labour force. Tokyo-based AI start-up Zeals launched a trial in March using Unitree’s G1 robot at University of Tsukuba Hospital in Ibaraki prefecture. According to a Nikkei Asia report in April, the robot was used to guide patients to locations including the hospital’s blood lab. Separately, UBTech last month also struck a deal with Honda’s China trading subsidiary to explore the use of the Chinese company’s humanoid robots in industrial manufacturing, logistics and warehousing. China dominated the global humanoid robotics market, accounting for four out of every five humanoid robot installations worldwide last year, according to consultancy Counterpoint Research. Around 16,000 humanoid robots were installed globally in 2025 across sectors including research, logistics and manufacturing. Chinese humanoid robots have also attracted attention overseas after one caused disruption on a Sunday Southwest Airlines flight from Oakland to San Diego in California. Rental company Elite Event Robotics purchased a seat for its Bebop robot – reportedly a modified Unitree G1 – prompting more than an hour of security checks before Southwest cleared it to fly.