One Year in Japan: Why the Country's Leading Enterprises Chose NamiTech

Within its first year in Japan, NamiTech was selected by three of the four largest BPO providers in the country. For a foreign Voice AI company, that is not a typical outcome.

Japan is not an easy market to enter. For any enterprise technology company, and especially for those coming from outside the country, gaining the trust of Japanese organizations requires more than good technology. It requires patience, consistency, operational reliability and a deep respect for the way business relationships are built in Japan.

Trust is not something you claim. It is something you earn through results, relationships and real-world deployments. After one year of operations in Japan, NamiTech has built a network of enterprise customers and strategic partners that represents one of the strongest endorsements a Voice AI company can receive in this market.

This is the story of that first year.

Why Trust Matters More Than Technology in Japan

The Japanese enterprise market operates differently from most. Vendor evaluation processes are longer and more rigorous. Decision-makers prioritize stability, long-term commitment and proven reliability over novelty. In sectors like banking, insurance and contact center operations, the risk of deploying an unproven system in production is not just a technical concern. It is an organizational and reputational risk.

And yet, the market is shifting. The combination of an intensifying labor shortage and rapid advances in AI technology has changed the conversation. Where enterprises once approached Voice AI with caution and skepticism, many are now actively seeking solutions that can deliver real operational value.

"Previously, there were many concerns about the risks of AI, but the sentiment among our customers has changed over the past year or so. While technical factors undoubtedly play a large role, it is also likely due to the fact that people now commonly interact with AI using smartphones and other devices." — Kengo Watanuki, CEO, SHIFT PLUS

This shift in market sentiment has created an environment where the right technology, paired with the right approach to trust-building, can gain traction faster than in years past. NamiTech entered Japan at precisely this inflection point.

Earning the Confidence of Japan's Largest BPO Providers

Within its first year, NamiTech has been selected by three of the four largest BPO providers in Japan: Transcosmos, Bell Systems24 and NTT. These are organizations that collectively manage millions of customer interactions every day across banking, insurance, telecommunications, retail and public services.

The requirements for any technology deployed in these environments are extraordinarily demanding. Voice AI systems must deliver consistent accuracy at scale, maintain compliance with industry regulations, integrate with complex existing infrastructure and operate reliably around the clock.

"With recruitment becoming increasingly difficult, expectations for AI are high. We are gradually incorporating AI into our operations while exploring various options." — Hiroshi Kato, Executive Officer, Bell Systems24

SHIFT PLUS, another major contact center operator, has also implemented NamiTech's technology. CEO Kengo Watanuki points to speech recognition accuracy as a decisive factor in the partnership.

"Speech recognition generates data that is input into the system. The quality of that data is extremely important because it affects subsequent processes, such as the analysis of customer needs. I believe that speech recognition accuracy is one of NamiTech's greatest strengths." — Kengo Watanuki, CEO, SHIFT PLUS

Kengo Watanuki, Representative Director of SHIFT PLUS Co., Ltd.

For NamiTech, being chosen by organizations of this caliber in the first year was not just a commercial milestone. It was a validation of the company's approach: building Voice AI solutions that prioritize reliability, governance and operational readiness.

Hiroshi Kato, Executive Officer, BellSystem24 Co., Ltd.

Beyond Customers: A Growing Strategic Partner Ecosystem

Alongside its BPO partnerships, NamiTech has built strategic relationships with enterprises including Hitachi Systems, Hokkoku Bank, MKI (Mitsui Knowledge Industry), Tohō Gas and Impact Holdings. These relationships span systems integration, financial services, energy and business services.

In several cases, the relationship has evolved beyond a standard vendor-customer dynamic. Partners have chosen not only to deploy NamiTech's solutions within their own operations, but also to distribute NamiTech's products to their own customer base. This dual role, where a customer also becomes a distribution partner, is a strong signal of market confidence that typically takes years to establish in Japan.

The pattern is consistent: an enterprise evaluates and deploys NamiTech's Voice AI solutions, gains confidence through real-world results, and then begins introducing the technology to its own network of clients and partners. In Japan, where business relationships carry long-term reputational implications, that kind of referral is a far stronger signal than a purchase order.

The strongest endorsement is not a purchase order. It is a partner who puts their own reputation behind your solution.

In Practice: How Tohō Gas Chose NamiTech

Tohō Gas, one of Japan's major energy companies, introduced NamiTech's technology in early 2026. As the company expanded beyond its core gas business into new service areas, customer inquiries increased significantly. The challenge was clear: how to handle growing volume without sacrificing the quality of customer service.

"In recent years, in addition to our core gas business, we have also been focusing on new businesses. As a result, customer inquiries have increased. However, simply increasing the number of operators could lead to a decrease in productivity. To improve productivity while also enhancing the quality of customer service, we introduced NamiTech's technology." — Junichi Hasegawa, General Manager, DX Promotion Department, Tohō Gas

When it came to selecting a solution, Hasegawa's team applied rigorous criteria. The evaluation was not led by a fascination with AI capability. It was led by operational requirements.

"Security was our top priority when selecting a solution. It was crucial that the AI did not learn customer information and that personal information was not leaked. High recognition accuracy was also an essential element for smooth implementation in the field." — Junichi Hasegawa, Tohō Gas

This approach, where security and accuracy take precedence over novelty, is characteristic of how Japan's leading enterprises evaluate AI technology. For NamiTech, meeting those standards was the price of entry. Earning Tohō Gas's confidence was the reward.

Junichi Hasegawa, General Manager of DX Promotion Department, Innovation Promotion Headquarters, Toho Gas Co., Ltd.

Innovation That Earned Enterprise Confidence

Trust in the Japanese market is not built on promises about the future. It is built on demonstrated progress. Over the past year, NamiTech has continued to advance its product capabilities, reinforcing the confidence that customers and partners have placed in the company.

NamiGen 2.0, NamiTech's Voice AI agent platform, has progressed to its next generation, delivering improvements in voice quality, conversational capabilities and enterprise-grade architecture. The platform is designed to help enterprises move from concept to live deployment faster, while maintaining governance and integration standards.

Multilingual Agent Assist has been introduced to support contact centers handling interactions across multiple languages, improving agent productivity and enabling Japanese enterprises to serve their increasingly international customer base.

These product milestones matter because they demonstrate that NamiTech is not standing still. Customers chose NamiTech not only for what the technology could do today, but for the trajectory of continuous improvement the company has consistently delivered.

Looking Ahead: The Next Chapter

NamiTech's first year in Japan has established a foundation that most enterprise technology companies take considerably longer to build. The trust of major BPO providers, strategic partnerships across multiple sectors, and a growing track record of production deployments together represent a strong platform for growth.

Customers are equally candid about where the technology still has room to grow — a realism that has defined the relationship from the start.

"Depending on the business area, there are things that can be entrusted to AI, and things that are not yet sufficient. However, that area will gradually expand." — Hiroshi Kato, Executive Officer, Bell Systems24

"A human can insert a few polite remarks into the conversation. We hope that AI will get closer to that." — Junichi Hasegawa, Tohō Gas

Closing that gap - with the customers and partners who defined it - is the work of the year ahead.

The first year was about earning trust. The next chapter is about building on it, together with the customers and partners who chose to believe in NamiTech's vision from the start.

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