Japan plans automated cargo transport system to relieve shortage of drivers and cut emissions

AP Business Writer

TOKYO (AP) — Japan is planning an automated cargo transport corridor between Tokyo and Osaka to make up for a shortage of truck drivers. The system, billed by the government as “a conveyor belt road,” is seen as one way to help the country cope with soaring deliveries as the number of workers declines. A computer graphics video made by the government shows big, wheeled boxes moving along a three-lane corridor, also called an “auto flow road,”  in the middle of a big highway. A trial system is due to start test runs in 2027 or early 2028, aiming for full operations by the mid-2030s.