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NYK participated in the "Consortium to develop trade data sharing platform using blockchain technology," formed by NTT DATA Corporation (headquarters: Koto-ku, Tokyo, President & CEO: Toshio Iwamoto). The consortium is comprised of 14 companies from various sectors involved in trade-related business including banking, insurance, integrated logistics, import and export, and others.

Trade procedures are time-consuming, as exchange of paper-based documents is required. This consortium aims to streamline processes for trade data sharing between verticals and businesses using blockchain technology. It is the very first consortium ever launched in Japan that transcends across diverse industries in trade-related business*.

NYK Group joined the consortium for blockchain technology concerning that it has a potential to be the plat-form of logistics supply chain and it will result in improving our service in future. NYK Business Systems Co., Ltd. (headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo, President: Tetsuji Madarame), an NYK Group company which oversees NYK Group's information technology, will also actively cooperate with this consortium.

NYK Group will continue to collaborate with parties of various fields, and proactively apply information and communication technology (ICT) including IoT and big data in shipping operations, in order to meet the demands of customers and society for safe, economical, and environmentally friendly shipping operations.

Summary of this consortium

This consortium is designed to explore solutions to the challenges in trade procedures between businesses, across industries and national boundaries as well as to conduct POCs** for enhancing efficiency and reliability in trade procedures using blockchain.

Period of activity

August 2017 to March 2018 (scheduled)

Major Activities

Exploring solutions to issues to enable practical application

Validation of the feasibility in real-life operations (studying expected efficiency benefits included)

Examination on future possibilities to develop systems, etc.

Figure. Scope of activity of the consortium

Participant companies (Alphabetical order)

Companies listed below will participate in this consortium.

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd. ('K' LINE)

Marubeni Corporation

Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL)

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Limited

Mizuho Financial Group, Inc./ Mizuho Bank, Ltd.

Nippon Express Co., Ltd.

NTT DATA Corporation

NYK Line

Sojitz Corporation

Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc.

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation

The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Ltd.

Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd.

Toyota Tsusho Corporation

 *According to a survey by NTT DATA

**POC stands for Proof Of Concept, which means a positive attempt for demonstrating that a new concept, theory, principle, and the like can be realized.