Itochu Techno has begun deploying AI at Tokyo Marine's call center, reducing call-handling time by up to roughly 30%.

What happened: Itochu Techno Solutions (CTC) started operating an AI system for Tokyo Marine's call center in March. The system cuts the time a human agent spends on a customer call by up to roughly 30%. The company is also selling generative AI from U.S. startup Anthropic.

Why it matters: CTC is placing AI at the center of its growth strategy. The move shows that Japanese enterprises are beginning to deploy generative AI to reduce operational workload in customer-facing roles—a practical use case distinct from the hype around general-purpose AI systems.

What to watch: CTC faces competition from rivals such as NRI (Nomura Research Institute) and SCSK (a Sumitomo Corporation subsidiary) in the AI services market. How broadly CTC can scale its call-center solution and how much revenue it generates will signal whether this becomes a repeatable business model.