Mizuho collaborated with Marubeni Corporation and Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance on the project, which saw all trade-related processes, from issuing the letter of credit to delivering trade documents, completed via a digital platform using distributed ledger technology.

Mizuho says the initiative demonstrated the benefits of DLT in slashing the delivery times for trade documents, improving transparency and easing administration.

Nonetheless, a number of stumbling blocks still remain before further progress in a live trading environment can be achieved, says the bank. These include the sharing of data with parties not on the permissioned blockchain, and enabling the wider transmission of supplementary information related to any particular transaction.