Articles & News

On 31 August 2026, Ariki Ono, CEO and Logistics AI Architect of Nexgen Japan, delivered a keynote at ITmedia Security Week 2026 Summer, one of Japan's largest security events, with more than 1,500 attendees, setting out the job description of a new role that pushes final decision-making authority to the front line: the AI Steward.

A flash report on the field study conducted from 29 July to 2 August 2026 under the joint sponsorship of Nexgen Japan, NTT e-Moi and LOGISTICS TODAY. Cai Mep–Thi Vai's weak connectivity with Japan, double-digit growth as a national quota, a cold chain split 87% south versus 11% north, the leapfrog over modern trade, and the latecomer's advantage created by 'effectively zero' TMS adoption — read against public statistics, with three recommendations for Japanese logistics providers and cargo owners.

On 8 July 2026, our CEO and Logistics AI Architect Ariki Ono was featured in Part 1 of Ascend Inc.'s webinar "CLO-Led Management Reform: An Intensive 2-Day Course." He set out how to turn logistics from a cost centre into non-financial value, why the supply chain is the only function that improves both ROIC and WACC, and a realistic first step via Pareto analysis. As a Nexgen View, we add three perspectives: translating for the boardroom, the untapped white space of management AI, and cross-functional governance.

On 29 June 2026, Nexgen Japan CEO and Logistics AI Architect Ariki Ono spoke at LOGISTICS TODAY's online event 'LOGISTICS AI AWAKENING 2026 — AI-Driven Practice Summit [Act I] Fundamentals & Implementation.' Alongside Kensuke Kijiya of Hacobu and Kazuhiro Okazawa of KURANDO, he set out implementation steps, levels of AI use, and a governance design that separates 'AI usage rules' from 'AI management rules.' Through Nexgen View, we add our perspective from logistics and physical AI.

An article authored by Ariki Ono, CEO of Nexgen Japan, has been published by the World Economic Forum (WEF), proposing the roles that remain human in the age of AI — the 'AI Architect' and the 'AI Steward' — and a real-to-AI-to-real cycle of work.

The AI divide is not a simple extension of the digital divide but a gap in the skill to use AI. This piece unpacks the paradox by which learning becomes obsolete, distinguishes the surface skills that decay within months from the core skills that compound, and sets out how individuals and organisations alike can stay in the race, illustrated with a real inventory-optimisation example.

Triggered by a single U.S. Department of War memorandum in January 2026, the 'AI Manhattan Project' has moved from concept to implementation. Technology has no inherent good or evil, but executives who fail to decide how it is used bear the responsibility. Drawing on the lessons of the Manhattan Project, this article examines the responsibility structure of AI governance in the dual-use era.

On 8 May 2026, Nexgen Japan CEO and Logistics AI Architect Ariki Ono delivered the keynote at LOGISTICS TODAY's emergency event on the Hormuz crisis. Seventy days after the crisis broke, the talk set out an impact-emergence simulation, multi-tier visibility for critical items, and the four-function coordination across management, legal, logistics, and procurement. Through Nexgen Lens, we examine the common structure that emerged across the late-March Nexgen Expert View, the JILS 'Management × Transformation' white paper of April, and this special event.

Nexgen Japan authored Chapter 1 of the white paper 'Management × Transformation', published by the JILS Special Committee for Logistics Innovation Promotion. The chapter redefines logistics and sets out three responsibilities for the CLO in an era where crisis has become the new normal.

CEO and Logistics AI Architect Ariki Ono delivered a keynote at LGX 2026 at Makuhari Messe, joining Hiroshi Ishiguro and Noriya Usami to discuss Japan's competitive edge in the Physical AI era.

Following the U.S.-Israeli strikes on Iran in late February 2026, the Strait of Hormuz situation changed dramatically. This article examines the crisis structure — transmitting through four channels: energy, maritime transport, non-energy materials, and policy intervention — and the cross-functional responses companies must adopt.

An article authored by Nexgen Japan has been published as a World Economic Forum (WEF) Agenda piece, proposing governance frameworks for the era of Physical AI.

A guest lecture on 'The Entrepreneur's Responsibility in the Age of AI' delivered at the Aoyama Gakuin University Graduate School MBA program.

Ariki Ono spoke at LOGISTICS DX SUMMIT 2025 on the theme 'The CLO's Next Move Toward 2030,' presenting a vision for the future of generative AI and logistics.

Nexgen Japan contributed to Sigmaxyz's white paper on logistics transformation, offering insights on the CLO framework and the Physical Internet.

Nexgen Japan contributed to the JILS white paper, advocating for the development of advanced logistics talent and the importance of appointing a CLO.