BAKU, Azerbaijan, October 28. Japan's ITOCHU Corporation, Mercuria Holdings and En Growth Fund have jointly invested in Capital Ship Co., the holding company of Smart Technologies & Resources, a domestic provider of duty-free systems, ITOCHU said on October 28.
The investment comes as Japan's inbound tourism market expands and the country prepares to introduce a revised duty-free shopping system in November 2026.
Japan welcomed a record approximately 42.7 million foreign visitors in 2025, while their spending in the country reached an all-time high of around 9.5 trillion yen, according to ITOCHU.
Under the new duty-free system, travelers will pay the tax-inclusive price when purchasing goods and receive a consumption tax refund after customs approves their purchases upon departure. The change is expected to increase demand for systems supporting tax refunds and related retail operations.
“Smart Technologies develops and provides services including the SmartDetax service, which uses AI to help duty-free retailers improve operational efficiency, and the JPrefund tax refund and refund-support service that enables duty-free retailers to return the equivalent of the consumption tax to eligible customers,” the company said.
Smart Technologies' services are currently used by more than 2,500 retailers. Ahead of the November 2026 reform, the company has developed a refund system compatible with the new procedures, and some participating retailers have already started offering services under the revised method.
ITOCHU entered into a business alliance with Smart Technologies in January 2026. Since then, the companies have worked to expand the network of participating retailers and support their operations in cooperation with BELLSYSTEM24, an ITOCHU equity-method affiliate specializing in business process outsourcing (BPO) services.
“Through this investment, the ITOCHU Group and MHD Group will draw on their respective customer bases, sales networks, and expertise in the payment and finance domains to further strengthen the business platform of Smart Technologies,” ITOCHU said.
The companies also plan to use purchase data and customer interactions generated through duty-free shopping and tax refund services to develop additional business opportunities in Japan's growing inbound tourism market, including data-driven marketing and sales promotion support.
ITOCHU is a Japanese trading and investment company with operations across multiple industries, while Mercuria Holdings is part of the Mercuria Group. The investment is intended to strengthen Smart Technologies' business platform and expand its role in Japan's duty-free retail and tourism ecosystem.
