Motoo Nishihara serves as NEC’s Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and as President of the NEC Group’s independent think tank, the Institute for International Socio-Economic Studies (IISE). Few understand the transformative power of technology as deeply as Nishihara. In this interview, we ask him about his vision for further leveraging AI and about NEC’s thought leadership activities, which create customer value by articulating forward-looking perspectives and ideas. Driven by a bold ambition to transform NEC into a world-class company, Nishihara shares his thoughts on the initiatives that will help open up future markets.

The evolution and adoption of AI will trigger a once-in-a-millennia revolution

— In addition to your role as CTO, you became President of IISE in April 2025.

I currently have four major responsibilities. First, as NEC’s CTO, my role is to identify the direction of emerging technologies and translate that insight into concrete strategies that guide the company’s operational execution. Second, as head of the Global Innovation Business Unit (GIBU), which brings together researchers from around the world, I am involved in creating new businesses. Third, I oversee NEC’s intellectual property domain, where we have been expanding initiatives to license and commercialize the IP assets owned by the company.

And now, a fourth role has been added: serving as President of IISE. By integrating these four functions, I see my mission as maximizing the overall value of the NEC Group.

— Let’s talk about AI.

At a 2025 event, we introduced the concept of “＋AI for all transformations.” Looking ahead, AI will be embedded across all industries and business operations. Today, large language models (LLMs) are most often accessed via the cloud, but as AI continues to become more compact, we can expect this advanced intelligence to be built directly into robots, drones, and other devices. The very foundations of society and the way we work are poised to undergo fundamental change.

— Some say AI is the first major revolution since the advent of the internet.

That may actually be an understatement. It would not be an exaggeration to call this a once-in-2,000- or even 3,000-year transformation. One leader in the AI industry has likened its impact to that of the ancient Roman slave system, which freed up time for the ruling class and enabled the birth of philosophy, ultimately shaping the development of culture, thought, and science. Of course, this is not intended to condone slavery in any way, shape, or form. However, the emergence of AI-powered robots could create a similar shift, dramatically expanding human capacity by freeing people from certain forms of labor. To prepare for such an era, we must continue to build collective wisdom around how AI can be used effectively and responsibly.

— AI was also a central theme at the NEC Innovation Day 2025 (NID 2025) Briefing, “Driving NEC’s Growth: Advanced Technology Development and Expansion into New Business Areas,” held in December 2025.

At NID 2025, we focused on practical discussions looking three to five years ahead. We addressed what companies and organizations should be paying attention to right now in the age of AI, and what NEC can contribute in response. One topic in particular drew strong interest: how AI can be used to harness uniquely human forms of intelligence.

The key concept here is tacit knowledge. Tacit knowledge refers to insights and know-how rooted in personal experience that are not easily articulated or put into words. Some argue that 80 to 90 percent of corporate activity is driven by this kind of tacit knowledge. If individual tacit knowledge can be aggregated and captured through AI, it can be transformed into shared organizational intelligence. Being able to articulate this concept ahead of others was one of the major achievements of NID 2025, and we felt it resonated strongly with the audience and was met with a high level of understanding and acceptance.

In 2026, IISE will evolve into a global hub where knowledge from around the world converges

— From your perspective as CTO, how do you view your appointment as President of IISE, NEC’s think tank?

My primary objective is to accelerate our thought leadership activities. By thought leadership, I mean articulating a vision of the future of society and creating new customer value as a market leader. IISE serves as the driving force behind the NEC Group’s thought leadership efforts.

NEC possesses world-class technologies, but technology alone cannot create social value. It is essential to share the underlying rationale—the why—behind these technologies, in other words, the thought itself, and to create an environment in which society can understand and embrace it. Having served as CTO for seven years, I have a deep understanding of what technology can achieve, and I believe I am well positioned to connect those capabilities with the thought required for real-world implementation.

Moreover, creating social value often calls for new business models. Given my experience overseeing new business development, I feel this role is also a natural fit from that perspective.

— As President of IISE, what are your goals going forward?

IISE has thus far focused primarily on supporting sales activities by reinforcing the social value created by NEC’s existing businesses. Beginning in fiscal 2026, when NEC launches its next mid-term management plan, our aim is to drive further growth for the NEC Group by creating new thought that opens up future markets.

To that end, we have put forward a new vision: evolving IISE into a platform-based think tank. Rather than IISE alone producing answers, this concept positions IISE as a platform that attracts world-class intelligence from around the globe. By bringing together opinion leaders from diverse fields and engaging them in dialogue with our own executives and business leaders, we believe we can generate something truly extraordinary.

Our first step will be to host an invitation-only event in February called the IISE Forum, welcoming partners from Andreessen Horowitz, one of the world’s largest venture capital firms. The forum will explore the impact of AI on software and society, alongside leading experts from Japan, including Professor Kazuto Ataka of Keio University. We anticipate a powerful exchange of ideas between top-tier thinkers from Japan and around the world.

— What are IISE’s advantages?

The NEC Group has the ability to implement technology in society. IISE will be focusing on defining the newly emerging form of society and making it a reality by leveraging the implementation capabilities I have developed as CTO. By overseeing the entire process from exploration of thought to implementation, we can achieve an unparalleled level of differentiation that existing think tanks and consulting firms will be unable to replicate. Harnessing the NEC Group’s unique advantages, we will also strive to accelerate the speed of creation by integrating the collective knowledge of our think tank into AI and combining vast and diverse knowledge.

— What are your aspirations going into fiscal 2026?

If I had to sum it up in one word, I would say transformation. In the upcoming fiscal year, we plan to utilize the immense power of AI to reinvent ourselves for the better, transforming NEC into a world-class company.

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