The way I see it is there are 3 paths for robots. 1 is to do something humans can't do or is dangerous like work underwater or in space. 2 is do something intensely boring like counting or operating simple machines. 3 is replacing humans because humans are more expensive, unappealing, dangerous, annoying, etc [too human]. The last bit is most concerning and what is happening in Japan. While a lot of countries with low birth rates and ageing populations simply let in the foreigeners, Japan builts robots because robots understand their culture better.