Nomura to Collaborate with OryLab to Promote Disability Inclusion

Nomura Holdings, Inc.

Tokyo, July 7, 2026—Nomura Holdings, Inc. today announced that it has signed a memorandum of understanding with OryLab Inc. to work together to promote disability inclusion. This collaboration will bring together OryLab’s expertise in avatar robots and related technologies with Nomura’s experience in financial and economic education and disability inclusion. Together, the companies will focus on the following three areas to support learning, social participation, and employment opportunities for people with disabilities and their families:

• offering financial and economic education programs using the OriHime avatar robot
• developing financial and economic education materials for people with disabilities, their families, and support providers 
• jointly exploring employment and work models using avatar robots

For the first initiative under this collaboration, Nomura will hold Japan’s first financial and economic education event featuring avatar robots at its Otemachi head office on July 30 and 31. Through this event, participants will have the opportunity to learn about money and its role in society while interacting with people with disabilities who are working remotely through the OriHime avatar robot.

Nomura will also offer its “Manabou Classroom” financial and economic education classes for elementary school students on August 26 and 27 as part of the OriHime MIRAI Park project, organized by OryLab, at Minna no Atelier in the MARK IS Minatomirai mall. The classes will give children the opportunity to learn together with OriHime.

For people with disabilities, their families, and support providers, financial and economic knowledge is an important factor in planning their lives and expanding future options. Nomura aims to develop educational materials that help people with disabilities learn about money and society, think about their daily lives and future options, and take steps toward employment and social participation in a way that is right for them. Nomura will also explore ways to provide families and support providers with the information they need in an easy-to-understand format.

Nomura will participate in a pilot project at Bunshin Robot Café DAWN Yokohama, which OryLab is scheduled to open in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, in the fall of 2027. Nomura will also explore opportunities to use OriHime at its new Nihonbashi head office and other locations.

Specifically, Nomura will work with OryLab to identify ways avatar robots can be used to create new roles and employment models for people who have difficulty going out or getting around. These could include remote customer service roles, reception and information services, and facilitation of communication inside and outside the company. Through these initiatives, both companies aim to help realize an inclusive society where people who have difficulty going out or getting around due to disability, illness, caregiving, childcare, or other circumstances can connect with society and take on meaningful roles, regardless of their location.

In line with its Purpose — “We aspire to create a better world by harnessing the power of financial markets” — Nomura is committed to promoting inclusion and providing a workplace environment where everyone can thrive as their authentic selves. Nomura has continued to provide inclusion training for the approximately 15,000 employees across its group companies in Japan, and it has incorporated progress on promoting workplace inclusion in performance evaluations for all managers and employees globally. These initiatives are designed to deepen understanding and encourage behavioral change across the organization. 

Nomura has promoted disability inclusion through initiatives such as joining Valuable 500, providing sign language classes led by employee volunteers, and establishing consultation desks, and these efforts led to Nomura being selected by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government as a Barrier-Free Mindset Good Practice Company in fiscal 2025. As part of these efforts, Nomura has explored the potential for collaboration through avatar robots, including by creating opportunities for Nomura Group employees to interact with OriHime pilots who remotely operate the avatar robots, as well as with representatives of OryLab. Following the signing of this memorandum of understanding, Nomura will move forward with specific initiatives in financial and economic education, educational material development, and employment models.

OryLab Inc. is guided by its mission: “Solving human loneliness through communication technology.” It conducts research and development and provides services that extend the options available to people who have difficulty going out or getting around due to disability, illness, caregiving, childcare, or other circumstances. OryLab promotes the concept of avatar robots as “another body,” and it offers OriHime and other robots that can be remotely operated via the internet.

This collaboration will be carried out as part of the activities of the Nomura Well-Growing Institute. The institute aims to build social infrastructure that empowers people to consistently challenge themselves and grow throughout their lives, focusing on the priority areas of learning, connection, and daily essentials (food, shelter, clothing). Nomura will continue working to achieve sustainable growth together with society and help create a better world where everyone can experience long-term well-being.