Japanese online shopping giant Rakuten Group Inc is considering introducing autonomous mobile robots to deliver goods amid a severe labor shortage in the transportation sector, according to a senior official.

The company plans to expand the technology to its flagship Rakuten Ichiba online shopping operations, having already launched a robot delivery service in Tokyo for groceries and other items bought from local stores, Fukutaro Yamashita, a senior manager in the company's unmanned solution department, said in a recent media briefing.

"This is a business that is needed in an era of population decline," he said.

The plan comes as e-commerce firms such as Rakuten are facing a severe shortage of delivery personnel at a time when the number of packages is increasing.

Yamashita said autonomous robots will be especially useful for last-mile deliveries, the final stage when shipments reach their destinations.

He did not specify when the company plans to introduce the robots for its e-commerce service or how many it aims to deploy.

Rakuten's current service, which started in Tokyo's Harumi district and neighboring areas in November, employs robots made by U.S. start-ups to transport groceries ordered on a dedicated smartphone site from a local supermarket to designated pickup points for a fee of 100 yen.

Rakuten has also teamed up with beef bowl restaurant chain Yoshinoya Co, U.S. coffee chain Starbucks and other businesses, and is planning to expand the number of partner stores and the area covered by the service.

Japan's revised road traffic law in 2023 made it easier for unmanned delivery services to gain traction, with autonomous delivery robots now allowed to operate on public roads under certain conditions.

The Japanese operator of the Uber Eats online food ordering platform is also offering robot delivery services in the country.