Send message to Author

Paper short abstract

This paper analyzes how everyday automation is co-constructed by stakeholders and experienced by users in Japan. Applying Social Practice Theory, the paper shows how misalignment between policy, academia, and industry shapes fragmented automation practices affecting customers and retail employees.

Paper long abstract

As ageing societies are increasingly faced with workforce shortages and questions of digital inclusion or technological adaptation, everyday automation has become a central feature of social and economic life, also in Japan. Technologies such as self-checkout machines are now widely embedded in retail spaces and shape how people shop, work, and interact. While often framed as tools of efficiency and convenience, these systems also raise questions about accessibility, digital competence, and changing forms of social interaction.

This paper examines how everyday automation is experienced, interpreted, and negotiated by different social actors in Japan. It draws on qualitative data from expert interviews with policymakers, academics, and industry representatives, providing insight into the institutional logics shaping the design and governance processes of automation. Additionally, focus group interviews with users from different generations as well as interviews with retail employees examine the actual experience of such technology. Observations conducted in supermarkets further contextualize these perspectives by capturing everyday interactions between customers, employees, and machines.

The analysis is guided by Social Practice Theory, which conceptualizes automation not as an isolated technology but as a practice constituted through the interplay of materials (self-checkout machines), competences (digital skills and adaptation), and meanings (e.g. efficiency, independence, or social connection). This framework allows for a comparative examination of how automation is co-constructed by institutional domains and how it is embedded in users’ everyday routines. The findings reveal a significant misalignment between policymakers, academic experts, and industry actors in how everyday automation is understood and implemented. These discrepancies result in fragmented implementation, which becomes visible in the daily lives of both customers and retail employees.

By foregrounding everyday practices and institutional dynamics, this paper contributes to ongoing debates on automation and social shifts in Japan. It highlights how misalignment across policy, academia, and industry shapes the lived realities of automation and underscores the need for more socially attuned and coordinated approaches to technological implementation in Japan.