While Japan is a technological powerhouse, it is usually a follower and not a pioneer.

Some of the best PCs in the world are manufactured by Japanese firms, but the PC itself was invented by Apple and IBM, both U.S. companies. The same holds for robots — while a third of the world's industrial robots are in Japan, factory robots were created in the U.S. 40 years ago.

Now, there's a new robotics revolution afoot, and Japan is on the sidelines. Robots are changing the nature of combat and challenging the monopoly on war held by man since ancient times, says military expert P.W. Singer. His new book, "Wired for War," is a comprehensive look at how robots have become integral to the modern military, but it scarcely mentions Japan. Despite the popularity of sci-fi war robots in Japanese franchises such as "Mobile Suit Gundam," U.S. defense contractors are leading the real roboticization of armed forces.