A 'Third Option' Instead of Court or Collection—Dialogue-based ODR 'OneNegotiation' Wins Winner Award at Startup JAPAN EXPO 2026 Dream Pitch
AtoJ's dialogue-based ODR service 'OneNegotiation' won the Winner award at the 'Dream Pitch' of Startup JAPAN EXPO 2026. Its UI/UX, which resolves small claims with a resolution rate of over 50%, was highly evaluated.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 23, 2026 at 17:38
- 🔍 Collected: April 23, 2026 at 09:01
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 23, 2026 at 09:28 (26 min after Collected)
AtoJ Inc. (Headquarters: Kita-ku, Osaka; Representative Director & CEO: Nobuo Tomita (Attorney); Representative Director & CLO: Masatoshi Mori (Attorney)), under the vision of "Bringing the security of law to the palms of people worldwide," has been awarded the Winner prize at the "Dream Pitch" contest held at "Startup JAPAN EXPO 2026" (Organized by: Eight / Sansan, Inc.) at Makuhari Messe on Wednesday, April 15, and Thursday, April 16, 2026.
Our online dispute resolution (ODR) service, "OneNegotiation," garnered support from many business people who attended because it presents a "third option" through dialogue-based ODR to solve the social issue of the "absence of resolution methods" in small claims.
■ About Startup JAPAN EXPO 2026 Dream Pitch
Held over two days, April 15 (Wed) and April 16 (Thu), 2026, at the Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall, this is one of Japan's largest startup exhibitions with about 450 startups exhibiting.
"Dream Pitch" is the official pitch contest held within the EXPO. Carefully selected exhibiting companies present their businesses and social significance on stage, and the Winner is selected based on evaluations by attendees.
From our company, Nobuo Tomita, Co-founder/Attorney and Representative Director & CEO, took the stage and delivered a 6-minute pitch on the business model of the dialogue-based ODR "OneNegotiation," user results, and the new form of dispute resolution that ODR is pioneering.
■ Why is ODR attracting attention now? — The judiciary's "great 80% blank zone"
It is said that 80% of disputes in Japan cannot access the judiciary. While the legal affairs market is worth 1 trillion yen and the cases handled by courts annually amount to about 10 trillion yen, the remaining "great 80%" area is largely dominated by cases where people have no choice but to drop the matter due to costs and procedural hurdles.
Small claims in particular—such as unpaid monthly fees of a few thousand yen or arrears in service usage fees—are typical examples. Hiring a lawyer is not cost-effective, and if the company continues to collect the debt internally, the on-site workload swells and customer relationships are damaged. Many businesses had to give up on collection simply because "collection costs are higher."
ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) is a category attracting global attention as a technological solution to this structural problem. Our "OneNegotiation" is an example of social implementation of dialogue-based ODR, having acquired certification from the Minister of Justice in Japan (Certification No. 0176).
■ The "Third Option" Emphasized in the Pitch
At the Dream Pitch, we focused on the following points:
1. Filing requires only 3 things: Name, Amount, and Contact
Filing is completed simply by inputting three pieces of information that businesses already have in their communications with customers. No new information gathering or data preparation is required.
2. The UI/UX for the recipient is the greatest invention
Those who receive a notification can proceed with the dialogue just by tapping options. "I don't recognize this," "I can pay in installments," "I want a third party to mediate"—these diverse circumstances are naturally converted into a dialogue through the design of options. Even if writing sentences is difficult, people can tap options. This experience design has raised the resolution rate, which was conventionally zero, to over 50%.
3. Completed entirely online, from dialogue to payment
We have realized a fee structure committed to resolution through a performance-based reward model.
■ Traction — In 1.5 years since service release
In the 1.5 years since the service release, we have accumulated the following achievements:
Cumulative number of filings: Over 30,000
Transaction volume: Over 700 million yen
Resolution track record: Over 50% (historical average)
Reduction in management tasks after internal collection: 90% reduction
We have received feedback from users saying, "We achieved 150% of our previous collection rate by introducing OneNegotiation." Also, in the fitness industry, we have confirmed a phenomenon where people who once canceled their memberships re-enroll triggered by a resolution through OneNegotiation, demonstrating its value as a resolution method that does not damage relationships, going beyond a mere "collection tool."
Expansion of Application Areas
Initially, we focused on the membership business area, but currently, implementation is expanding to diverse fields such as subscriptions, telecommunications, electricity, real estate, healthcare, and payments. We are also proceeding with linkages with customer management systems and accounting management systems, realizing "dialogue with customers after non-payment occurs," which was previously out of reach, through dialogue-based ODR.
■ Representative's Comment
Nobuo Tomita, Co-founder/Attorney and Representative Director & CEO, AtoJ Inc.
"This Winner..."
Our online dispute resolution (ODR) service, "OneNegotiation," garnered support from many business people who attended because it presents a "third option" through dialogue-based ODR to solve the social issue of the "absence of resolution methods" in small claims.
■ About Startup JAPAN EXPO 2026 Dream Pitch
Held over two days, April 15 (Wed) and April 16 (Thu), 2026, at the Makuhari Messe International Exhibition Hall, this is one of Japan's largest startup exhibitions with about 450 startups exhibiting.
"Dream Pitch" is the official pitch contest held within the EXPO. Carefully selected exhibiting companies present their businesses and social significance on stage, and the Winner is selected based on evaluations by attendees.
From our company, Nobuo Tomita, Co-founder/Attorney and Representative Director & CEO, took the stage and delivered a 6-minute pitch on the business model of the dialogue-based ODR "OneNegotiation," user results, and the new form of dispute resolution that ODR is pioneering.
■ Why is ODR attracting attention now? — The judiciary's "great 80% blank zone"
It is said that 80% of disputes in Japan cannot access the judiciary. While the legal affairs market is worth 1 trillion yen and the cases handled by courts annually amount to about 10 trillion yen, the remaining "great 80%" area is largely dominated by cases where people have no choice but to drop the matter due to costs and procedural hurdles.
Small claims in particular—such as unpaid monthly fees of a few thousand yen or arrears in service usage fees—are typical examples. Hiring a lawyer is not cost-effective, and if the company continues to collect the debt internally, the on-site workload swells and customer relationships are damaged. Many businesses had to give up on collection simply because "collection costs are higher."
ODR (Online Dispute Resolution) is a category attracting global attention as a technological solution to this structural problem. Our "OneNegotiation" is an example of social implementation of dialogue-based ODR, having acquired certification from the Minister of Justice in Japan (Certification No. 0176).
■ The "Third Option" Emphasized in the Pitch
At the Dream Pitch, we focused on the following points:
1. Filing requires only 3 things: Name, Amount, and Contact
Filing is completed simply by inputting three pieces of information that businesses already have in their communications with customers. No new information gathering or data preparation is required.
2. The UI/UX for the recipient is the greatest invention
Those who receive a notification can proceed with the dialogue just by tapping options. "I don't recognize this," "I can pay in installments," "I want a third party to mediate"—these diverse circumstances are naturally converted into a dialogue through the design of options. Even if writing sentences is difficult, people can tap options. This experience design has raised the resolution rate, which was conventionally zero, to over 50%.
3. Completed entirely online, from dialogue to payment
We have realized a fee structure committed to resolution through a performance-based reward model.
■ Traction — In 1.5 years since service release
In the 1.5 years since the service release, we have accumulated the following achievements:
Cumulative number of filings: Over 30,000
Transaction volume: Over 700 million yen
Resolution track record: Over 50% (historical average)
Reduction in management tasks after internal collection: 90% reduction
We have received feedback from users saying, "We achieved 150% of our previous collection rate by introducing OneNegotiation." Also, in the fitness industry, we have confirmed a phenomenon where people who once canceled their memberships re-enroll triggered by a resolution through OneNegotiation, demonstrating its value as a resolution method that does not damage relationships, going beyond a mere "collection tool."
Expansion of Application Areas
Initially, we focused on the membership business area, but currently, implementation is expanding to diverse fields such as subscriptions, telecommunications, electricity, real estate, healthcare, and payments. We are also proceeding with linkages with customer management systems and accounting management systems, realizing "dialogue with customers after non-payment occurs," which was previously out of reach, through dialogue-based ODR.
■ Representative's Comment
Nobuo Tomita, Co-founder/Attorney and Representative Director & CEO, AtoJ Inc.
"This Winner..."