Up to now, Nagasaka has engaged in various projects, primarily for financial institution clients.
“I feel that the number of projects aimed at promoting AI use has been on the rise lately,” he says. “At NRI, we’re not only helping our clients adopt AI for operations specific to the financial world like insurance services, but we’re also providing broad-based support for organization building, covering things like how to create an AI foundation that looks ahead to further technological innovations, and how to design and launch special departments directly under executive oversight. Within those activities, I’m mainly in charge of AI utilization in operations unique to finance, customer service, and sales operations.”
Based on client feedback, Nagasaka has seen how the insights and experience he has gained have benefited them, and this has been a source of joy for him as a consultant.
 
In his student days, Nagasaka majored in quantum mechanics. He imagined his future selftaking a research position at a manufacturer after completing his graduate studies, but this all changed when he did an internship at NRI.
“The idea of being a researcher deeply involved in a particular product or technology did have a certain appeal, but I felt that being in a think tank and having a bird’s-eye view of society as a whole, while also being heavily involved in helping individual companies transform their businesses, would be something more dynamic and challenging and therefore more rewarding. For me, as someone whose world had been describing physical phenomena in terms of formulas and equations and doing repeated experimentation, consulting work that brought me in contact with businesses and society was unknown territory. And when I realized this was the work I wanted to devote my life to doing, I chose to join NRI.”

AI’s capabilities are now dramatically improved, and concepts that were tried out in demonstration tests have now moved into the realization phase, Nagasaka says.
“AI agents hit the scene that could independently make decisions and act to reach a goal, and we’ve started to see them get used in earnest by financial institutions for their business. Meanwhile, the reality is that many companies are struggling to understand in concrete terms how this technology should be utilized. It’s also a challenge for me to figure out what I should present to my clients, in light of this new AI agent concept, and I think that NRI is also now coming to a point where it can show its true value as an AI leader.”

Under the circumstances, how should one think about the use of AI for transforming financial institutions? Nagasaka has the following thoughts, based on his own experience thus far.
“When we talk about AI use, most companies tend to imagine things like streamlining their internal operations or reducing costs. Those things are important, of course, and with the arrival of AI agents, the trend toward greater operational efficiency will likely accelerate further. But I hope that enterprises will think more about the use of AI to create new value.”

For example, consider AI service support for clients who are considering buying a financial product. Right now, there are likely many people who have some psychological resistance to the notion of simply purchasing a stock or an investment fund that has been recommended by AI. On the other hand, around 40% of people in their 20s or 30s now think that they have a need for an AI’s advice, even in the area of finance. If this technology evolves further, and that generation becomes the core client base for financial institutions, psychological hurdles to AI will likely come down in time.    
“As we look ahead to that time, a financial institution’s ability to compete going forward will come down to whether or not they can have AI services ready that their clients will be able to accept,” Nagasaka observes. 
“At some point there will be a limit to what can be done simply by applying AI to existing processes. That’s because the emergence of AI will substantially change the very structure of the finance business. It’s my hope that those involved in management at financial institutions will be inclined to rethink their operational processes and organizations based on AI use, rather than looking for extensions of what came before. Furthermore, I hope to see these financial institutions come up with more and more fresh ideas about what kinds of new value they can now provide to their clients that they couldn’t before. I believe that will lead to transformations in the financial industry.”

Having already carried out trial introductions of AI, various financial institutions began gradually moving toward full-scale utilization in their businesses in mid-2025. Nagasaka sees this moment as precisely “the time when NRI can most effectively demonstrate its abilities”.
“This is because companies need to link AI with their core systems,” he says. “At that time, they’ll need to take a comprehensive approach, covering everything from accumulating massive amounts of data and managing their data platforms, to modernizing their legacy systems, developing front office applications, devising security measures, and even doing operational and organizational reforms. These are exactly the areas where NRI excels. NRI can bring together all of the relevant resources, such as AI experts, systems engineers, and consultants with a deep understanding of operations, providing total service and support. I think the time has now  come when we can put our comprehensive abilities to real use.” 

Nagasaka’s aim in this situation is for NRI “to be the first thing that comes to mind whenever financial institutions struggle with AI use,” he says.
“I want to be a consultant who can be a discussion partner for my clients whenever they struggle to make not just AI, but any new technology work for them. Moreover, I’d like to be the kind of professional who can suitably bring together the right experts within NRI and design the ideal team. That’s why I also value my relationships within the company, and why I’m looking to gain many more colleagues who can contribute to this endeavor.”

Nagasaka’s current goal is to “work with my clients to create a new type of financial institution that’s fundamentally premised on the use of AI.” The important thing, as Nagasaka emphasizes, is not to get caught up in the technology of AI, but instead to support these financial institutions in their efforts to create new value amid the paradigm shift that AI’s arrival has brought about.
“AI is a means to this end. I think that what’s ultimately important is to have careful, substantive conversations with our clients. This may be exactly the opposite of technical thinking, but I’m always mindful about not losing opportunities for dialogue.”
Right now, Nagasaka feels a dynamic sense of enjoyment in facing the kinds of business and social transformations that he hoped to see when he first joined NRI.