By Kazuki Sato / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer

West Japan Railway Co. (JR West) and Tokyo-based major Japanese aluminum manufacturer UACJ Corp. will boost their comprehensive partnership, the two companies announced on Tuesday.

Comprehensive partnerships between railway operators and manufacturers are rare in Japan.

Aiming to enhance their technological capabilities and create new business opportunities, the two companies will collaborate primarily on jointly developing and selling artificial intelligence-powered cameras and recycling aluminum.

In 2023, JR West began selling an AI surveillance camera that it developed based on surveillance cameras in its stations. The Mitococa camera has enhanced performance, with features such as real-time AI image analysis. Among its functions, it can sound an alarm when it detects workers entering dangerous areas. At UACJ, a major client making use of the technology, accidents have reportedly been reduced to zero in areas where the cameras have been installed.

JR West intends to further refine Mitococa with UACJ. With potential for expanded use of the technology in factories producing food, materials and other goods, the two companies will consider establishing a joint venture to expand sales, according to sources. JR West aims to increase its annual revenue from Mitococa sales to about 1 billion yen by 2030, about ten times the current level.

UACJ holds the top domestic market share for producing rolled aluminum products at about 50%. It is one of the world's leading aluminum manufacturers. Through the partnership, JR West will make use of UACJ's expertise in efficient factory operations, which involve utilizing robots and other technologies. The two companies will also collaborate to recycle the aluminum used in rolling stock and other products. Meanwhile, for UACJ, JR West's expertise in rolling stock maintenance and other areas is attractive from the perspective of aluminum quality control.

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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.

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