Japan’s Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) has announced it has will participate in a Japanese consortium to developing a trade data sharing platform using blockchain technology.
The consortium is comprised of 14 trade-related companies such as banking, insurance, total logistics providers and export/import companies.
The 14 companies in the consortium are Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Marubeni Corporation, MOL, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Company, Mizuho Financial Group, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Express Company, NTT DATA Corporation, NYK Line, Sojitz Corporation, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance and Toyota Tsusho Corporation.
MOL believes that current trading practices rely heavily on bills of lading and other documents, which creates burdens such as additional time to complete procedures and requires additional labor and costs. The program aims to increase convenience for customers by using blockchain technology to make information flow more smoothly through corporations.
The formation of the consortium is Japan’s first initiative on using blockchain technology on trade-related operations.
