Cyberdyne Inc. said Wednesday its powered exoskeleton has received government approval as a medical device. It said it is first robotics device ever to secure such status in Japan.

"We have finally reached the stage ... where technology born in Japan has become a medical device," Yoshiyuki Sankai, founder and CEO of the Ibaraki-based robotics firm, told a news conference at the health ministry.

The health ministry said HAL has been approved as a medical device for diseases including spinal muscular atrophy and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis.