How are Mitsui’s digital initiatives progressing?

Broadly speaking, the Mitsui & Co. Group is pushing ahead with two transformations with digital (DX). The first is to improve performance through DX to enable our people to do a bigger job, and the second is to create new businesses using digital technology and AI. We have been fully committed to DX since 2017. Based on the accumulation of DX projects and our steady progress in establishing a DX platform and developing DX talent, I feel that we have built a solid foundation and wish to make a big leap this fiscal year, including the full-fledged utilization of generative AI.

Please introduce some of your main DX projects.

We have already started implementation of more than 50 DX projects. I would like to introduce a notable one, ALTERNA from Mitsui & Co. Digital Asset Management. ALTERNA is an online asset management service that enables digital securitization of assets such as real estate and infrastructure, allowing retail investors to invest in small amounts. With the issuance of security tokens,^* permitted by a change in Japanese law in 2020, digital technology can now be used to reduce transaction costs and conduct smaller transactions, making it possible for individuals to invest in real estate and infrastructure assets, which were previously markets mainly for institutional investors.

Can you tell us about the DX platform that will support DX projects?

We have formulated the Digital Grand Design as a compass for digital governance and standardization of our DX platform. We aim to move away from individual optimization based on building systems according to business needs. Instead, by optimizing systems, processes, and data based on the Digital Grand Design, we aim to improve performance throughout the entire Group and enable swift and accurate decision-making.

How are you developing personnel to drive DX initiatives?

We aim to equip our diverse personnel, who are well-versed in a wide range of businesses, with digital skills to make all staff DX-ready. We have also upgraded our in-house certification system to encourage employees to drive business transformation through DX by utilizing the digital knowledge they have acquired at the Mitsui DX Academy, which was launched in 2021. Our focus for this fiscal year is on learning about generative AI and its application.

Some have called 2023 “year one of generative AI.”
How is the Company approaching generative AI?

We launched “MBK Private AI,” which is an internal application for generative AI, in March 2023. Generative AI has the potential to significantly expand what is possible for humans. So to allow our personnel to utilize generative AI toward their further success, we are working on familiarization across the Group, and are advancing preparatory work such as the setting up of governance measures. I use generative AI as my “good partner” in preparing for various meetings and other situations. Based on my first-hand experience of the improvement in performance, I am committed to encouraging its utilization.

What are your initiatives and expectations for this fiscal year?

We will leverage AI in both internal and external business activities to make further improvements in performance and create new businesses. By utilizing AI, we intend to take the first step in building a new future for Mitsui at an unprecedented speed and creativity.“Mitsui & Co.×AI=∞(infinite) possibilities.”

* Security token: A digitized financial product (security) issued and managed using blockchain or other technology.

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