Japan to allow driverless tractors on Hokkaido roads for AI farming

Robot tractors will be permitted to travel on public roads without anyone aboard in Tokachi under a special-zone decision taken by the Japanese government on Thursday (September 10).

The decision covers 19 municipalities in the region, including the city of Obihiro, in Hokkaido, Japan’s northernmost prefecture.

They will be designated as national strategic special zones to promote agriculture powered by artificial intelligence (AI).

At present, every self-driving robot tractor must still carry an operator when using a public road, including during journeys from a warehouse to a field.

As a result, farms covering vast areas need one person for each machine when several tractors are deployed, reducing the labour-saving benefits of automation.

Under the special arrangements, an autonomous tractor may travel without a driver on board if it moves in convoy with a manned truck or other vehicles.

The government will also simplify procedures governing autonomous tractor use on public roads and pesticide spraying by drone, while relaxing regulatory requirements for developing the communications infrastructure needed for unmanned operations.

Although the special-zone system has previously been applied to agriculture, this will be its first use specifically for AI-powered farming.

An earlier exemption in the central Japanese city of Niigata enabled farmers to run restaurants on their farmland.

The government hopes the Tokachi initiative will attract technology companies to the agricultural sector.

At a press conference following the decision, Obihiro Mayor Yosuke Ueno said, “We appreciate the recognition of the Tokachi region, with its large-scale farms, as being well-suited to serve as a demonstration site for AI-powered agriculture.”

A Cabinet Office survey and demonstration project will begin later this month, Ueno added, while a symposium is scheduled to take place in Obihiro in November.

“By making use of the special zone, we can establish a new form of agriculture in a short period and spread it throughout Japan and the world,” said Mitsugi Takenaka, mayor of Kamishihoro and chairman of an association of towns and villages in the Tokachi region.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]