I, for one, welcome our new robot overlords.

Japan wants to help build a lunar base and populate it with advanced versions of today's humanoid robots by around 2025, according to the head of the nation's space agency.

The idea is more than a pipe-dream; it is part of a 20-year plan, called JAXA Vision 2025, that was drawn up by Keiji Tachikawa, a former president of Japan's largest mobile operator NTT DoCoMo, who is now president of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency(JAXA).

As part of the plan, Japan would use advanced robotic technologies to help build the moon base, while redeveloped versions of today's humanoid robots, such as Honda Motor's Asimo and Sony's Qrio, could work in the moon's inhospitable environment in place of astronauts, he said in a recent interview.

Japan's lunar robots would do work such as building telescopes and prospecting and mining for minerals, Tachikawa said.

"I see a big role for Japan's robotics technologies on the moon," he said. "Japanese robots will be one of our big contributions. If there is work where robots can replace humans, they will."

I love the Japanese.

Here's some more pictures of Repliee at the World Expo. I have to wonder what her maker is thinking at that moment. Can someone caption that?