One company that has successfully raised pay is a major maker of industrial robots.

It did this on the back of solid business performance and improved productivity.

The firm recently unveiled its most advanced machine yet, utilizing artificial intelligence.

With Japan in the grip of a labor crunch, the firm sees growing demand for such products.

At its own factory, robots have been sharing the workload with humans for three years.

The company says that has enabled productivity of workers' to rise by about 40 percent.

The efficiency upgrade coupled with strong earnings led the company to hike base pay this year by the most ever.

"The workers are what drive the company."

"So we aim to increase profits and give back to our employees."

Behind the push for better pay is inflation.

Real wages are in fact, still falling, as they are not keeping up with prices.

That's led the country's biggest labor union organization to demand a pay raise of at least 5 percent in next year's negotiations.

That's above the 30-year high of over 3.5 percent this year.

Workers on temporary and part-time contracts are also standing up.

The so-called non-regular employees account for more than a third of the workforce.

For the first time this year, they joined hands to request coordinated pay raises.

Next year, they plan to call for an even bigger increase of at least 10 percent.

"We urgently need to tackle the issue of how to increase wages for non-regular workers

and those who do not belong to an organization."

The momentum is spreading to smaller businesses as well.

The company that runs this seafood restaurant in south-western Japan streamlined operations by digitalizing its customer information.

The firm says it has minimized food losses, as data make it possible to purchase materials in just the right amounts.

That's created an opportunity to open a specialty take-out store.

Higher profits have allowed it to raise pay by an average of 5 percent.

"Even with a small company like ours, if you try seriously, your efforts will have positive results."

A leading economic researcher says raising pay is the way to go in times of labor shortage.

"We need well-equipped factories, but also great human resources to produce high-quality products."

"In these times, businesses need to increase wages to be able to hire such people."

Japan has long been trying to kick-start a self-sustaining cycle of higher wages and robust spending.

It may be now at a critical juncture for doing just that.

In November, a hotel in the western Japanese city of Osaka introduced a unique service.

"This is a special room where our customers can sleep in supreme comfort."

The hotel provides an ergonomic pillow and a room aroma of forest scents.

Books are a key ingredient for getting a good slumber.

"We choose books that don't have dramatic plots, and which create a feeling of warmth after reading them."

The point is not to choose books to make you fall asleep instantly, but those that put readers into a good state of mind.

The project was started by a major book distributor.

It chooses a selection of comics and short stories for hotels.

"I hope we can help people build the habit of reading a book for 10 minutes before going to sleep."

Meanwhile, a company that sells wood and interior fittings has developed a unique nap capsule

in which a person can sleep in an upright position.

The interior provides support to the shins and buttocks.

It is said that people do not fall into a deep sleep while upright, and can get back to work immediately after waking up.

The company has been working with a university to study the capsule's benefits.

"My brain didn't shut down."

"But I felt like I was able to rest my body."

The company expects the product to appeal to airlines, hospitals, and other places where employees work at night.

"The norm is to resist the urge to sleep while working."

"But it would be good if society could accept the idea of people napping during work

because workers' productivity would improve after resting."

The average sleep time for people around the world is 8 hours and 28 minutes.

That is over an hour more than for Japanese people.

A major chemical firm decided to make use of a program to improve sleep.

Employees volunteered to wear a device attached to a wristband.

It measured the amount of time they were asleep and awake, as well as the quality of their sleep.

Using a service to analyze the data,

the company gave tips to employees on their habits during the day and before going to bed to optimize sleep quality.

"I felt the need to improve the quality of my sleep, and decided to follow their advice."

"I'm now able to wake up refreshed in the morning."

"I hope to increase the number of people who say they are sleeping sufficiently

so they can enjoy their jobs and work with a sense of accomplishment."

Getting enough quality sleep may be essential to surviving in today's hectic world.

And it's no longer just bedding companies trying to fill this need.

All kinds of others, from hotels to manufacturers, are waking up as well.

By making a few more deifications, standard diesel engines, can now run on hydrogen.

And aluminum waste can now be used to produce hydrogen through a chemical reaction that results in zero CO2 emissions!

Today's On-Site Report shows how some companies are overcoming the main issues

that have prevented hydrogen from catching on as a clean source of energy!

Clean hydrogen is now becoming a leading option in the current push toward decarbonization.

This vehicle produces zero CO2 emissions, the only thing that is coming out the exhaust, is water vapor.

This delivery truck is powered by an engine that runs on 100% hydrogen.

Almost all hydrogen powered vehicles in use today are fuel cell electric vehicles

that use hydrogen to generate electricity which is then used to power an electric motor.

This truck however, is powered by a combustion engine that was modified to run on hydrogen instead of diesel.

This is research facility belongs to a company that specializes in hydrogen fuel applications.

The company thought that if hydrogen could be used to power delivery trucks, it would help drastically reduce CO2 emissions.

Since carbon emissions are clearly the enemy,

we felt the quickest and most effective way to eliminate them

would be by converting diesel engines so they can run on hydrogen.

The biggest advantage of engine conversion is it requires only replacing a small number of components.

The pistons need to be replaced in order to withstand the increased explosive force of hydrogen.

A new cylinder head which can accommodate spark plugs, which aren't used in diesel engines, must also be added.

A hydrogen fuel injection system and a new intake manifold are also needed.

Lastly, fuel injection levels are adjusted to prevent combustion damage from the hydrogen,

which has a higher energy output than diesel.

Equipped with four hydrogen tanks, which are also used in FCEVs, the truck can travel 200 km before needing a quick fill up.

Only requiring new fuel tanks and modifications to about 30% of the engine,

allows for a quick and affordable conversion process.

It's not limited to big trucks with diesel engines,

we can convert anything with a combustion engine so it can run on hydrogen.

In November of 2023, the research and development team began working with a logistics company to test out its modified engines.

Many logistics companies are looking at engine conversion as one of the most viable options for decarbonization.

The pressure to cut CO2 emissions is also coming from the client side,

so if we can switch to engines that run on hydrogen, that will help us to stand out from the competition.

Once testing is complete, the developer plans to partner with auto parts manufacturers

to mass produce the conversion components in 2024.

It hopes to convert more than 20,000 trucks to using hydrogen fuel by 2050.

We want to create a society where hydrogen use is the norm, rather than the exception.

Once we get this truck engine done right, demand will expand and our business will grow.

I think the key to our success will be in modifying hydrogen engines for medium-size and large-size trucks, generators, and trains.

The open-air hot spring baths at this inn located in Toyama prefecture are proving to be popular with guests.

Hydrogen is used to ensure the water stays at comfortable bathing temperatures.

Outside the inn, you'll find a hydrogen production system and a water heater.

What really makes the system standout, is the fact that it's powered by "clean hydrogen"

made through a unique process that produces no CO2 emissions.

The key material used to produce the hydrogen is aluminum that is sourced from waste products.

Producing hydrogen on-site, provides access to an eco-friendly energy source

without requiring additional transportation or storage costs.

Mizuki Nobuaki developed the special equipment used to produce hydrogen from waste aluminum.

He first became interested in the aluminum that is attached to many types of plastic and paper waste about 17 years ago,

when he was in charge of recycling at a logistics company.

For example, the aluminum foil used in food packaging is difficult to separate and collect, so it's not recycled.

The amount of waste containing aluminum accounts for 10% of household garbage.

Like much of the world, most of this kind of garbage is disposed of in landfills or is incinerated.

I thought this was such a waste and thought it would be amazing if we could find a way use it as a source of energy.

To turn his dream into a reality, Mizuki teamed with researchers at a nearby university and began to do research.

The first step was figuring out how to best separate aluminum from the waste products.

Next, he came up with a process that uses high temperatures to burn away other contaminants, resulting in highly pure aluminum.

The final step was to develop a method to efficiently produce hydrogen from aluminum.

He decided to base his process off of techniques developed by a team of researchers from a Spanish university.

After 10 years of research and development, Mizuki finally perfected a special formula.

The unique formula allows for a continuous reaction between water and aluminum that results in the production of hydrogen.

Once the process is finished, the remaining chemical liquid can be filtered and used again.

Just 50g of aluminum waste can produce enough hydrogen to power an FCEV for 1km.

So far, Mizuki‘s company has received inquiries for his aluminum-based hydrogen production systems

from more than 10 hotels and inns that want a more eco-friendly way to provide their guests with hot water.

He currently plans to begin sales sometime in 2024.

The current trend is toward decarbonization and reaching zero emissions,

so I think it would be great if we could use this type of technology

to create eco-friendly hydrogen and do our part in this great time of transition.

We can produce green hydrogen from aluminum which is in abundant supply almost everywhere,

and that would otherwise just end up in a landfill.

This type of energy is just the sort of option we need in order to get away from oil and other types of fossil fuel.