asset management
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Asset Management is revolutionizing its business operations by integrating Snowflake and generative AI to automate complex tasks. Executive Officer Matsumoto explained during the Snowflake World Tour Tokyo how the firm uses "skills" defined in natural language to replace traditional programming, allowing employees to build internal
payments
Digital Garage (TSE Prime: 4819), a leading Japanese payment and marketing group, has launched “FT MediaString,” an AI-driven advertising business designed to integrate proprietary FinTech data with premium media inventory. The initiative, spearheaded by subsidiary BI.Garage, enters the market as the digital advertising industry faces mounting challenges in
data
Legacy data fragmentation is a strategic liability that imposes an "intelligence tax" on every executive decision. In the current financial landscape, the volume of data has scaled beyond human cognitive limits, rendering traditional "data hoarding" obsolete. To maintain a competitive edge, organizations must pivot to a
cybersecurity
Mizuho Bank announced that a storage medium containing sensitive customer information has been lost at one of its third-party system development subcontractors. The incident potentially affects nearly 60,000 individuals and corporate entities connected to the bank's overseas operations. According to the bank’s disclosure, the missing
banking
Rakuten Group and its banking unit, Rakuten Bank, have agreed to reopen negotiations regarding the reorganization of their financial technology businesses, less than two years after shelving a similar proposal. The companies have executed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to integrate Rakuten Bank, Rakuten Card, and Rakuten Securities into a
data
In a move to accelerate digital transformation within its corporate banking division, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (MUFG Bank) has secured an agreement with business intelligence platform Speeda, operated by Uzabase. The partnership involves the integration of Speeda’s proprietary economic data into MUFG Bank’s newly constructed "Proposal Data Lake,
artificial intelligence
The release of the 4th annual Alternative Data Factbook, produced by the Japan Alternative Data Accelerator Association (JADAA) and SOMPO Institute Plus, confirms that the market has successfully navigated its initial volatility. Survey participants have moved decisively past the "pandemic surge"—a period characterized by reactive, uncritical data
venture capital
Yuimedi, a health-tech startup specializing in the standardization and utilization of medical data, has raised 400 million yen (approx. $2.6 million) in a fresh funding round. The capital injection is aimed at accelerating the deployment of its AI-driven data infrastructure and expanding its footprint in both the
capital markets
JPX Market Innovation & Research (JPXI) has initiated a major overhaul of the Japanese securities industry’s digital infrastructure, announcing plans to construct a common cloud-based data platform aimed at eliminating legacy inefficiencies in back-office operations. The project, which leverages technology from data cloud company Snowflake, seeks to
Insurance
Sumitomo Life Insurance Company has released the findings of an internal investigation, confirming that employees seconded to independent insurance agencies engaged in the improper acquisition of sensitive business information. The investigation, which spanned operations from April 2022 through October 2025, revealed that seconded staff transmitted proprietary data back to Sumitomo
artificial intelligence
Mitsubishi UFJ Bank (MUFG Bank) has adopted LayerX's "Ai Workforce" platform to overhaul operations within its Solution Products Division (SPD). The implementation marks a significant shift toward digitizing the lifecycle of highly specialized financial instruments, from initial proposals through to mid-term management. Addressing the Complexity
payments
Fujitsu and Mizuho Bank have entered into a strategic collaboration aimed at overhauling the fragmented infrastructure of business-to-business (B2B) transactions in Japan. The partnership seeks to introduce a new order and payment processing service designed to streamline operations for Small and Medium-sized Enterprises (SMEs), aimed at cutting