(Photo/weibo.com/shnews)
Should a robot's word be taken seriously? A humanoid robot resembling Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a Shanghai exhibit has caught the attention of Chinese netizens.
The 2015 China International Robot Show, held in Shanghai from July 8 to 11, featured a robot dressed like Abe in a suit, smiling and constantly bowing before visitors.
Called "Apologizing Abe," videos and photos of the robot soon attracted wide attention but was also criticized, saying a robot's apology is meaningless.
Japanese netizens made light of it. "Good sense of humor, probably the Liberal Democratic Party needs one," read a comment from Yahoo News Japan translated by news portal thepaper.cn on Tuesday.
"Next time please make an Abe robot the size of Gundam (a giant robot from an anime TV series)," read another post from Japan.
"It's just a way to attract attention from visitors and with absolutely no political implication," Wang Guofeng, a sales agent of the reported manufacturer, Shanghai Jinghong Robot Co Ltd, told the Global Times.
Wang said the company did not manufacture the robot, yet a card with the company's name was found on the robot and a similar product was featured on the company's website, priced at 39,000 yuan ($6,282).
"Some Japanese companies are exhibitors, yet we received no complaints or feedback from them on the robot," added Wang, saying the robot was not a highlight of the exhibit.
Abe plans to express his "deep remorse" over World War II in August to mark the 70th anniversary of Japan's surrender, Kyodo News reported.
