Tokyo -- Sompo Holdings and NTT signed a partnership agreement on November 11, 2026 to bring physical AI into Japan's nursing care sector, starting with indirect tasks such as cleaning, laundry, meal handling and item transport.
Partners target labor shortages in a super-aging Japan
The agreement responds to a shortage of frontline nursing care workers that the companies say is already a social issue and will intensify as Japan ages. Sompo Holdings (Group CEO Mikio Okumura) and NTT (President and CEO Akira Shimada) define physical AI as cameras, sensors, robots and the systems connecting them. The technology perceives physical space and carries out tasks through equipment such as robots.
The companies say deployment requires more than technology development. It also needs integrated preparation covering data, operational design, operations, maintenance and security for stable everyday use.
Initial use cases exclude direct physical care
The partners expect to focus first on cleaning, laundry, preparing and clearing meals, and transporting items. Direct physical care for users is not part of the initial scope.
The collaboration study will first identify frontline challenges and priority use cases. It will then examine operating and service models built on human-physical AI cooperation. The study will also map the path from R&D and demonstration to deployment, continuous improvement and commercialization.
Sompo supplies care operations know-how, NTT supplies network and security capabilities
Sompo Holdings will contribute consumer insights and operational knowledge from its nursing care services, along with expertise in service quality and frontline reform. NTT will provide expertise in secure communication networks and security, platforms connecting diverse devices and systems, and social-infrastructure-grade operations.
Each company will coordinate with its own group companies, and external partners will join where needed. The companies will settle data and intellectual property handling, demonstration plans and the division of roles for commercialization.
They also plan to widen cooperation with physical AI business operators. The goal is a model that can move from nursing care into other care operators and domains of daily life.