Kobe Beef's Bronze Statues Go Revocable: NFC Tags and a Blockchain Turn a Physical Seal of Authenticity Into a Credential That Can Be Switched Off Across 1,000-Plus Shops Worldwide

What happened: the proof of authenticity itself becomes updatable

The association designates wholesalers, retailers and restaurants that handle Kobe Beef and lends each a bronze cow statue as proof of authorized status. Since registering the regional collective trademark in 2007 it has operated a fully designated system from breeders to sellers, and in 2015 Kobe Beef became Japan's third registered product under the Geographical Indication (GI) protection scheme. Under the new system, NFC tags are affixed to the statues and a new NFC-embedded certification display has been created. Shop and certification data registered to each tag are recorded on a blockchain, and the association manages certification status, expiry dates and installation status of domestic and overseas shops through the SHIMENAWA management system. When a registration is renewed or lapses, the status can be changed immediately, so even if a statue physically remains in a shop, a consumer's tap shows the current status.

The problem solved: credentials that could not be recalled

The release identifies two issues. First, under the previous analog management of certificates, recalling statues at expiry was difficult and some continued in use after their term ended. Second, consumers at home and abroad needed an easy way to verify that a shop was genuinely authorized. According to Kobe Shimbun, registered shops numbered 1,089 at the end of July 2024, about half of them overseas, with exports reaching 42 countries and regions. A Ministry of Agriculture case study notes that before the first exports, all beef sold abroad under the Kobe name was counterfeit, which makes overseas shop certification central to brand protection. The bronze statue has served as a symbol of authenticity but carried a structural weakness: it could not be revoked. NFC tags plus on-chain records replace that weakness with a mechanism in which the validity of the proof can be changed at any time.

Technology and operation: no app required, verified in a browser

The consumer experience is simple. Tapping the NFC tag on a statue or display opens a browser page, without a dedicated app, showing the authorized shop name, registration number and expiry date. SHIMENAWA combines IC tags (RFID/NFC) with blockchain to assign unique IDs to physical assets or cards and record related information centrally, supporting authenticity checks, usage and distribution histories, tag-based content delivery and inventory management. The dedicated NFC tag was co-developed with Uni Tag. SBI Traceability, a unit of SBI Holdings, was founded in April 2021 with capital of JPY 100 million (about USD 650,000) and has deployments with sake brewers including Dassai, as well as knives and jewelry, and a partnership with Toho Bank supporting SME exporters. The association says it will also consider using the tags to deliver information about registered shops and Kobe Beef to consumers.

Context: shop certification as a new application for GI products

SHIMENAWA's previous uses centered on authenticity and tamper detection for products themselves, such as sake bottles, knives and jewelry. Here the object is not a product but a shop's certification status, and the tag sits on shop fixtures rather than packaging. This applies traceability technology to the question every GI or regional trademark body faces: who is an authorized handler. Japan has more than 150 registered GI products as of 2026, and many managing bodies run similar designated-shop systems and certificates. If the approach proves effective for a brand as internationally exposed as Kobe Beef, other regional brands have ample room to follow.

[Business Development Insights]

1. Look for situations where the value lies in revoking a credential rather than issuing one. Kobe Beef's problem was not distributing statues but the inability to recall expired ones. Organizations that operate physically distributed credentials, such as certificates, membership cards and license displays, will buy revocation management as a product in itself. Here blockchain tamper resistance functions as assurance that the record of revocation cannot be rewritten later.
2. Expanding the object from products to qualifications and certifications extends the customer base from manufacturers to industry bodies and local governments. SHIMENAWA has moved from the unit of a sake bottle or a knife to the unit of a shop certification. Industry associations and certifying bodies are numerous and share the same pain, so one deployment readily propagates to peers.
3. Managing overseas shops is the biggest pain point for bodies that cannot station staff abroad, and the ability to change validity remotely is the deciding factor. About half of Kobe Beef's registered shops are overseas across 42 countries and regions. For managing bodies of regional brands expanding abroad, the pitch should center on stopping a certification without traveling rather than on what can be done domestically.

[Sources]

PR TIMES (SBI Traceability Co., Ltd.), "SBI Traceability's SHIMENAWA adopted by the Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association for designated registered shop certification management" (November 4, 2026) https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000052.000100112.html New Economy, "SBI Traceability's SHIMENAWA adopted for Kobe Beef registered shop certification" (November 5, 2026) https://www.neweconomy.jp/posts/624066 CoinPost, "Kobe Beef authorized shops verified with NFC and blockchain; SBI group service adopted" (November 4, 2026) https://coinpost.jp/?p=746306 Kobe Beef Marketing and Distribution Promotion Association, "About Kobe Beef registered shops" https://kobe-niku.jp/contents/merchant/about.html Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, "Registered product No. 3: Kobe Beef" https://www.maff.go.jp/j/shokusan/gi_act/register/0003/index.html MAFF Kinki Regional Office, "Export case study (Hyogo, Kobe Beef)" https://www.maff.go.jp/kinki/seisan/nousan/yusyutu/attach/pdf/export_jireihyogo-60.pdf Kobe Shimbun editorial on Kobe Airport internationalization and Kobe Beef (March 2025) https://www.kobe-np.co.jp/opinion/202503/0018730990.shtml Toho Bank, "Business alliance agreement with SBI Traceability" (October 23, 2023) https://www.tohobank.co.jp/cms_source/data/newsrelease/files/20231023_3.pdf