An object recognizer recognizes a position and an attitude of a target object based on data measured by a sensor. A safe distance calculator calculates a distance from the target object to a certain object which is other than an object manipulation apparatus and the target object. A manipulation controller controls the pickup device based on the position and the attitude of the target object, and based on the distance from the target object to the certain object. When there are a plurality of target objects to be selected by the object manipulation apparatus, the manipulation controller selects one of the target objects having distances to the certain object longer than a predetermined threshold, and manipulates the selected target object using the pickup device.