The suit. which is worn as an external skeleton, is the latest technological advance designed to assist Japan's rapidly ageing farmers, according to lead researcher Shigeki Toyama.
"I have been working on this for about 10 years now because few young people want careers in agriculture now and older farmers need help to do their work," said Mr Toyama, a robotics professor at The Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology.
The suit is fitted with motors at the key joints - the lower back, knees, elbows and shoulders - that work in tandem with the wearer and provide additional strength.
"It is designed for a range of activities that farmers are required to do, such as carrying heavy bags of potatoes, pulling 'daikon' (Japanese radishes) from the ground, or pruning branches," said Mr Toyama.
In a recent demonstration at the university's farm, the suit was put through its paces by a student who needed only 15 kg of force to extract a daikon from the ground - about half what is usually required.
Japan's agricultural sector is in crisis as young people abandon the countryside for jobs in major cities. Nearly half of the nation's agricultural workers are aged over 60 and the amount of cultivated land here is shrinking.
Becoming increasingly reliant on imported food has caused consternation in government circles here and efforts are under way to encourage more people to take up farming. At the same time, technology is being pressed into service to increase yields and efficiency.
Professor Toyama's robotic suit weighs an unwieldy 25 kg, but he is aiming to reduce that by half and have it on the market within two years. Early versions are likely to cost as much as Y1 million (£7,370), but he hopes that mass production will reduce that to around Y300,000 (£2,210) per unit.