Japan’s DNP sets eyes on Asia-Pacific cross-border digital credentials

Global printing giant Dai Nippon Printing (DNP) is getting into the digital identity business. And not only that: The 150-year-old Japanese conglomerate also wants to take its decentralized identity across borders and has co-created an Asia-based consortium to help it achieve this.

The Asia Pacific Digital Identity Consortium was launched in December last year with the goal of establishing collaboration on cross-border digital identity solutions in the region. According to Takumi Aoki, DNP’s senior marketing analyst, the consortium will gather a group of partners working on interoperability and use cases within the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region, Identity Week reported last week.

“The EU has their own EUDI [Wallet] and they’re working together collectively. But in the Asia-Pacific, I think there isn’t exactly that kind of cooperation yet,” says Aoki.

The goal would be to allow a Japanese resident, for instance, to share their credentials in places such as Singapore, South Korea, Myanmar, or Taiwan. An ideal outcome is enabling the use of local IDs across borders. DNP’s role in this would be to provide the infrastructure, including a platform that includes a digital identity wallet and issuing Verifiable Credentials.

“We want to get other partners on board […] to enable a stronger network and ecosystem where people will be able to have their local identities to be used around the world, especially in the Asia-Pacific region,” adds Aoki.

Known for printing physical identity documents and for its KYC business, DNP’s move to digital identity was a natural transition, according to the marketing manager.

The Tokyo-headquartered firm started offering its DNP Decentralized ID Management Platform in August last year. Aside from issuing Verifiable Credentials, the platform issues digital credentials based on decentralized IDs (DID). Consumers can use the platform to manage their ID information and verify their identity with a smartphone.

“We think one of the benefits of decentralized identity is the cross-border aspect,” says Aoki, adding that it will enable users to have control over data.

But DNP also sees potential in the financial industry, education and the automotive industry. The company says it’s compliant with international technical specifications which will allow integration with both domestic and international services. The company became the first firm in Japan to join the now-defunct Open Identity Exchange (OIX) last year.

The firm has been working with Australian company Meeco on developing digital identity wallets, as well as VC issuance and verification systems. The two sides are also working on international verification trials in Australia.

Article Topics

APAC  |  Asia Pacific Digital Identity Consortium (APDI)  |  Dai Nippon Printing (DNP)  |  digital ID  |  digital identity  |  digital wallets  |  verifiable credentials