Japan Invests In Service Industry, Reshaping Its Legendary Hospitality

Japan's capital expenditure boom is shifting to the services sector, stirring fears that self-checkout systems and software will take the human touch out of omotenashi, the country's vaunted commitment to hospitality.

The economic forces at work are undeniable. The working-age population is forecast to shrink by about a third in the next half century, and companies simply cannot hire enough workers.

Turning to automation raises productivity and removes a bottleneck to economic growth - but marks a retreat from a services-oriented culture where the customer is king.

"The level of omotenashi depends on where you shop, but regardless, we place a lot of emphasis on face-to-face interaction," Naoki Kobayashi, 52, a sales manager at a telecommunications company, said after buying drinks from a store in northern Tokyo that had no staff. "We also have a shrinking population, so I can understand why some retailers have to change."

East Japan Railway Co worked with information technology consultancy Signpost Co to set up the store last month at a train station on a popular commuter line.