TOKYO(January 29, 2003)--Nissho Iwai Corporation and Oracle Corporation Japan will enter into a comprehensive business tie-up in a bid to diffuse the use of the Electronic Seal System. The Electronic Seal System is an electronic authentication tool, for which Nissho Iwai has formed the Electronic Seal Consortium (*) in collaboration with seal manufacturer Shachihata Inc. and others to carry out planning, development and promotional activities. Nissho Iwai and Oracle Japan will not only cooperate on the technical front, but will also share their respective information and customer channels so as to promote sales activities. For a start, from February 3 the companies will commence sales of the Shachihata-made electronic seal "PC-based approval inpplet" and the electronic seal-enabled integrated authentication server "jaiser", which has adopted Oracle Japan's database "Oracle9i Database".

Nissho Iwai aims at wide recognition of the Electronic Seal System as a new electronic authentication tool, and strives for its market penetration. The tie-up with Oracle Japan, which boasts the top share in sales of corporate databases in Japan, will enable the offering of higher value-added services, and the company expects that the spread of the Electronic Seal System will be accelerated.

On the other hand, Oracle Japan focuses on the spread of Linux-based systems, which introduction is also under consideration in the "e-Japan" Plan promoted by the government. There is an increasing demand for the Electronic Seal System in business applications such as personnel affairs (expense reimbursement systems) and accounting (forms systems) that require mainly approval operations. Oracle Japan will introduce the Consortium's Electronic Seal System application know-how to its partners, give full support to Electronic Seal System sales and will aim to develop new customers for its database "Oracle9i Database" and the "Oracle E-Business Suite" business application.

With assistance from Oracle Japan, Nissho Iwai will sell the Electronic Seal System to the government, local governments and private enterprises. A sales volume of 100,000 sets is planned for the first year, and sales of 1 million sets in three years' time. Niimi-shi in Okayama Prefecture (Mayor: Masao Ishigaki), which promotes the introduction of information technology, such as being the first local government to implement electronic voting, is undertaking a demonstration test for the Electronic Seal System. Nissho Iwai will also actively encourage government authorities to introduce the Electronic Seal System, which replaces the Japanese "personal seal-based society" business practice, as a lawful electronic authentication tool.

[Product to Market] 
1.Electronic Seal "PC-based approval inpplet" 
The electronic seal has the same shape as conventional seals, and the system allows one to place a seal on an electronic document by pressing the seal on a tablet (sealing pad) that is connected to the PC. The electronic seal has a unique built-in ID, and identifies individuals through verification on the server which controls IDs and seal impressions. The system provides more safety than passwords, and enables links with PKI (Public Key Infrastructure), which is a standard e-Japan Plan authentication method.

2.Electronic Seal-enabled Integrated Authentication Server "jaiser" 
The server controls the unique IDs and seal impressions of the electronic seal. It accommodates various business operations software, and manages/sets the private information and authentication standard of users in a consolidated manner. The server has an embedded "Oracle9i Database", Oracle Japan's database.


(*) "Electronic Seal Consortium"From July 2002, in collaboration with joint developers Shachihata Inc. and WACOM CO., Ltd., Nissho Iwai started a demonstration test for the Electronic Seal System in Niimi-shi, Okayama Prefecture. Subsequently, security system development vendor SORUN CORPORATION, and application program development tool language maker Magic Software Japan, K.K. joined, and the five companies established the Electronic Seal Consortium.
The Electronic Seal Consortium aims not only to improve the quality of the Electronic Seal system, but also aims to establish the product brand through the