Mercari Research and Development Organization R4D Announces Appointment of Norimasa Kobori as New Head of Research

Mercari strengthens AI area expertise to expand the Mercari R4D Lab research development network and to accelerate the real-world implementation of research

R4D, the research and development arm of Mercari, Inc. (“Mercari”), would like to announce the appointment of Norimasa Kobori as Head of Research, as of September 1, 2025. Norimasa previously worked for Woven by Toyota, Inc., where he was responsible for AI development for Woven City.

Background behind the appointment of Norimasa Kobori as new Head of Research

In order to realize Mercari’s mission of “Circulate all forms of value to unleash the potential in all people,” R4D has partnered with various universities and local governments based on the idea that co-innovation is crucial to resolving social issues through collaboration between industry, academia, and government on topics that transcend areas of expertise and social position. In July 2025, aiming to further expand and accelerate research and development and generate diverse forms of collaboration both within and beyond Mercari, the organization strengthened its research system with the establishment of Mercari R4D Lab, a research and development network for industry, academia, and government to work collaboratively.

In recent years, artificial intelligence (AI), including generative AI and large language models (LLMs), has developed at an astonishingly fast pace, inaugurating an age where the phases of research, development, and real-world implementation occur almost simultaneously. Seeing this matter as one of its most important topics in an ever-changing business environment, Mercari established a dedicated, internal, cross-organizational AI/LLM team in 2023. The team focused on strengthening product features that use generative AI such as listing, searching, and marketing, optimizing internal operations, enhancing the skills of all employees, formulating guidelines for the use of generative AI¹, and other such efforts to accelerate initiatives to make AI a driving force of business growth. More than just simple actions for technological implementation, the team set its sights on not only innovating the workstyles of the entire company and changes to the organizational structure, but also the direction of evolving Mercari into an “AI-Native company.”

In keeping with the changeover to this sort of management strategy, the company has appointed Norimasa as R4D Head of Research owing to his track record of real-world implementation of research results through such things as Woven City, automated driving development projects, and his rich expertise in the field of AI technology. R4D will further strengthen the connections between research, development, and business, aiming to expand co-innovation among researchers, local government, and businesses within Japan and overseas with Mercari R4D Lab as a hub. The network will build a structure for the speedy and appropriate implementation of scientific and technological value in the community and Mercari’s services to accelerate research and development worthy of the AI era and to realize sustainable growth while also realizing the mission of Mercari Group simultaneously.

Profile of Norimasa Kobori

After completing graduate studies at Waseda University, Norimasa built a career working on technologies such as image sensors, robotics, automated driving, and overseas research integration for Sony Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, and Toyota Motor Europe NV/SA. He earned a Doctoral degree in information science from Nagoya University Graduate School (of Information Science). Most recently, Norimasa worked on a multimodal infrastructure model for understanding urban spaces as the person in charge of the AI area of Woven City for Woven by Toyota, Inc. He also led the international workshop AI City Challenge. He now has concurrent positions as a visiting professor at Nagoya University and as an area advisor for the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST).

Message from Norimasa Kobori

Since I was a student, I have worked on robots, automated driving, and AI development related to urban spaces. Most recently, I have been thinking about the cities of the future. I believe that C2C platforms are the direction in which future cities and society itself will evolve into. I am saying this in reference to a world where the movement of people and the exchange of goods and services will increasingly be on a person-to-person basis, and where cities and lifestyles will evolve into personalized cities shaped by individual choices and values.

On top of this, what added value will be shared between individuals and how will it be circulated to society as a whole and manifest itself? Beyond simply reducing CO2 and decreasing the burden on the environment, I believe that whether or not these efforts lead to the creation of various forms of value such as improving well-being and customer satisfaction will be important propositions for society. Mercari’s mission of “circulate all forms of value” resonates strongly with the idea and initiative I have worked on thus far of “the real-world implementation of technologies to change people’s lifestyles and cities.”

As the head of R4D, I will use Mercari R4D Lab to further expand our network with researchers, local governments, and companies both within Japan and overseas, and accelerate the real-world implementation of core technologies like AI. Mercari and R4D will continue to create real-world implementations that contribute to achieving the mission of Mercari Group, aiming to deploy these innovations beyond the confines of our labs.

About Mercari R4D Lab

Launched by R4D, Mercari R4D Lab is a comprehensive research and development network for collaboration across industry, academia, and government. Established in July 2025, it is a platform for co-innovation that promotes the entire process from uncovering issues to real-world implementation, across all areas of expertise and social positions. Through partnerships with stakeholders in Japan and overseas, such as researchers, local governments, and companies, R4D aims to create a world that circulates all forms of value and where anyone can unleash their potential.

For inquiries regarding this research, please use the contact form on R4D’s website.