Northeastern Japan municipal office introduces AI terminal to assist residents

A municipal office in Ichinoseki in northeastern Japan has introduced an AI-powered terminal to help residents with tasks such as filling out documents, aiming to improve services and reduce staff workload, Kyodo News reported Sunday.

Developed by EasyDialog G.K., provider of generative AI chatbots, the device features a female character on screen that converses with visitors, providing directions or assisting with forms.

By scanning a driver's license or identification card, it can automatically enter personal details.

City officials said they adopted the system because staff are often too busy to fully assist visitors.

While Ichinoseki plans to eventually replace staffed counters with AI terminals, supporting elderly residents less familiar with digital tools remains a challenge.

"Just as self-checkouts have become prevalent in public lives, we will do what we can to let citizens get used to the AI counter and make it widespread," said Masaharu Sugawara, who oversees digitalization efforts.

EasyDialog said the device connects to more than 7,000 city web pages and is "a fully integrated system that not only provides information but also takes real-world action: from facial recognition and ID scanning to automated form processing."