I'm not surprised that the Japanese are in the lead on this, but I will state that my own microelectronics/micromechanics R&D lab here in the US made extensive use of precision micromanipulators well over a decade ago...
As a "tour de force", I often scribed my own signature and the date on the surface of a 3 mil (.003") "bonding pad" on an IC -- with lots of room to spare... OTOH, I worked using a standard stereomicroscope; having that 3-D video system (with image-enhancement capability) would be a big improvement...
The addition of stabilization systems and tremor-removal filters plus variable-ratio : geared-down motion control would go a long way toward compensating for the loss of tactile feedback.
With the prevalence of hospital-spread MRSA staph infections lately, I would prefer the use of super-sterilizable end-effectors over the (poorly-filtered) breath of a surgeon with his nose right over my surgery site any day!
Remote surgery? IMHO, go for it!!
Plus the fact that its minimally invasive and provides the surgeon vision which is 3D and HD (and though the film didn't mention it, I am sure the visual is magnification adjustable) is a huge positive IMO.