Takashi Ito (former Executive Officer and Head of Economic Security Management Office at Mitsubishi Electric) appointed as Advisor to FRONTEO

FRONTEO Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Masahiro Morimoto; hereinafter referred to as "FRONTEO") is pleased to announce that Takashi Ito, former Executive Officer and General Manager of the Economic Security Management Office at Mitsubishi Electric Corporation, has been appointed as an Advisor to the company.

In recent years, the international situation surrounding economic security has been changing rapidly. As the geopolitical conflict between the United States and China continues to drag on and the supply chains of important materials, particularly in the semiconductor and energy sectors, are being restructured, governments around the world have begun to expand the framework and scope of export controls and to tighten sanctions. In Japan, too, with the Economic Security Promotion Act as a backdrop, there has been an increased demand for companies to ensure transparency in their supply chains and business partners.

In this environment, it is imperative for each company to establish a risk management system to prevent business impacts that may result from unexpected regulatory violations or geopolitical incidents, and effective means of collecting and analyzing information are essential.

In order to address these pressing issues facing companies, FRONTEO has partnered with Mr. Ito, who has extensive experience and knowledge in the field of economic security, to develop an AI solution for economic security measures."KIBIT Seizu Analysis"We will further accelerate the improvement of the value we provide and the expansion of our business in this field.

[Comment from Takashi Ito]
Economic security is a concept for protecting countries and companies against foreign forces that use the economy as a weapon, and ensuring their sustainable existence. In the latter half of the 2010s, it was viewed from the perspective of technological hegemony between the United States and China, but after Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, it has come to be discussed as a conflict between democratic and authoritarian countries. At either stage, it remains an offensive and defensive issue of how to make the value chain of economic activity more resilient. However, it is difficult to reorganize a supply chain that has become extremely complex due to the uneven distribution of resources and the pursuit of economic rationality in a short period of time, and cooperation among like-minded countries has been considered effective in countering the weaponization of the economy.
However, the situation has become even more complicated with the inauguration of the second Trump administration.
With this in mind, economic security risk management is becoming an increasingly important issue for ensuring the sustainability of corporate activities. In particular, it is necessary to sharpen economic intelligence, identify specific risks, and continue to refine efforts. Of course, economic security is a short-term constraint on economic rationality, so it is necessary to use limited resources efficiently. AI is not a "silver bullet" that solves everything, but there is no doubt that it is an effective method. I am very much looking forward to advising FRONTEO's AI solutions from the perspective of an economic security practitioner.

[Biography]
He graduated from the Department of Law, Faculty of Law, Keio University in 1986. In the same year, he joined Mitsubishi Electric Corporation. While involved in semiconductor marketing and business planning, he also led industry restructuring, trade friction, and the resolution of international cartel litigation.
From 1995 to 1997, he was dispatched to the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren), where he worked to strengthen ties between European governments and business circles and the Japanese business community.
In October 2020, he was appointed head of the Economic Security Management Office established by Mitsubishi Electric. In addition to analyzing economic security information and controlling risks, he will actively conduct outreach on the importance of economic security and specific activities for companies. In April 10, he will be appointed as an executive officer. He will retire in March 2023.
In April 2025, he became an advisor to FRONTEO.

■About KIBIT Seizu Analysis　URL:https://osint.fronteo.com/
KIBIT Seizu Analysis is a system equipped with FRONTEO's proprietary analytical technology that performs network analysis of supply chains and the control status of companies by their actual shareholders for the purpose of economic security measures. Currently, we offer the following three solutions.

1) Supply chain analysis solution: Identify choke points (strategically important points) in the supply chain, possible connections with groups of concern, and the degree of dependency

② Shareholder control network analysis solution: Analyzes the influence between shareholders in a complex network using a unique method that adjusts for indirect shareholding ratios, and identifies the propagation of hidden control.

3) Researcher network analysis solution: Analyzes the personal connections of researchers in research and development related to sensitive technologies, focusing on the organizations to which the researchers belong, and identifies the risks based on that.

■ About FRONTEO　URL:https://www.fronteo.com/
FRONTEO supports the judgment of experts in various fields who face social issues day and night through the provision of its proprietary specialized AI "KIBIT," and creates the starting point for innovation. Unlike general-purpose AI, our proprietary natural language processing technology (patented in Japan and the United States) enables high-speed and high-precision analysis without relying on the amount of training data or computing power. In addition, by utilizing patented technology that maps (visualizes the structure) the analyzed information, "KIBIT" can directly influence the insights of experts, and in recent years, KIBIT's technology has also been used in hypothesis generation and target discovery in drug discovery.

Through KIBIT's unique technology and approach, we aim to realize our philosophy of "providing solutions that do not overlook risks and opportunities hidden in records, and realizing fairness in the information society."Life science AI,Business intelligence,Economic security,Legal Tech AIWe are promoting social implementation in each field.

Founded in August 2003, the company was listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers (now the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth) on June 8, 2007.
The company operates in Japan, the United States, South Korea and Taiwan.
Obtained Type 1 medical device manufacturing and sales license and registered as a controlled medical device sales business.
Capital: 898,618 yen (as of March 2024, 8).

*FRONTEO, KIBIT, and Seizu Analysis are trademarks or registered trademarks of FRONTEO in Japan, Europe, the United States, and Korea.