ITOCHU Corporation (Headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) has entered into a business alliance agreement with Smart Technologies & Resources Inc. (Headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Manabu Iwasaki, President; hereinafter “Smart Technologies”), a leading domestic provider of duty-free systems that support duty-free store procedures and tax refund operations for foreign visitors.

In recent years, Japan’s inbound market has been expanding rapidly, with the number of foreign visitors to Japan reaching a record high of approximately 42.7 million in 2025, while their domestic consumption also hit an all-time high of around ¥9.5 trillion^*1. In November 2026, a major revision of the duty-free system is scheduled, shifting from the current “tax exemption at the time of purchase” method to a “refund method,” whereby travelers pay the tax-inclusive price at the time of purchase and receive a consumption tax refund after customs approval upon departure.

Smart Technologies leverages AI to develop and provide (i) “SmartDetax ,” a solution that supports operational efficiency for duty-free stores through features such as reading passport and visa information, preventing fraudulent duty-free transactions, and automatically transmitting electronic duty-free data to the National Tax Agency server, and (ii) “JPrefund ,” a service that assists duty-free stores in refunding the consumption tax equivalent amount to duty-free customers. By utilizing these services, duty-free stores can efficiently and cost-effectively manage duty-free sales and refunds under the new system.

Through this alliance, ITOCHU aims to: (i) jointly develop new member stores with Smart Technologies, (ii) support member store operations in collaboration with Bell System24, a group company engaged in BPO^*2 services, and (iii) build new businesses in the inbound sector, thereby strengthening its initiatives in the expanding inbound tourism market.

ITOCHU, under its management policy “The Brand-New Deal: Profit opportunities are shifting downstream,” is expanding its business domains by capturing the diversified needs of society and developing downstream businesses closer to consumers. Utilizing its broad portfolio in retail finance, ITOCHU will further accelerate the expansion of its domestic and international financial businesses.