EghtesadOnline: Few places evoke the rise and fall of Japan’s industrial might than the head office of the Imperial Steel Works in Kitakyushu. The red brick Meiji-era building was the heart of the nation’s first big steelworks. Now it’s a Unesco World Heritage site.

EghtesadOnline: Japan and Germany may be sitting on a ticking demographic time bomb where aging populations begin to drag down economic growth. Good thing they’re also prime candidates for robot revolutions.