Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) will test face-recognition ticket gates at Hakata Station in Fukuoka from November, using NEC face recognition technology as it works toward hands-free train boarding. The railway already offers ticketless options such as QR-code tickets booked online, and said the face-recognition gates are meant to let passengers board empty-handed.
The trial is scheduled to run from November to December 2026 and is limited to JR Kyushu employees, who will act as test users. The railway will add face-recognition cameras to five existing automatic gate lanes at Hakata: two at the Central gate, two at the North gate and one exit lane at the AMU Plaza gate.
JR Kyushu said the trial will measure how accurately the system detects facial features while people are walking, how masks and changes in lighting affect recognition, and how quickly the gates respond as people pass through. It will also check whether existing gates and systems remain stable once the cameras are added.
NEC is providing the face recognition technology, and Nippon Signal is supplying the face-recognition gates and the system that decides whether to open them. JR Kyushu System Solutions is building the face registration system, while JR Kyushu Engineering is handling installation. Retrofitting cameras to existing gates is the same approach Hitachi and Tobu Railway took when they brought face recognition gates to Tokyo’s Ikebukuro Station in July.
Because the cameras will capture images of anyone within their range at the trial gates, JR Kyushu said it will post notices near the gates and that people who want to avoid being photographed can use other gates. Images will be used only to verify recognition accuracy and improve the technology, and all images collected for the trial will be deleted promptly after it ends. The company said it will not perform face recognition or capture images outside the cameras’ shooting range.
The railway said it will use the results to refine the system and consider how to deploy the service, with further details to be announced once decided. The Nishi-Nippon Shimbun reported on October 15 that JR Kyushu plans to introduce face-recognition gates at JR Kaizuka Station, a new station in Fukuoka scheduled to open in spring 2027.
Sources: JR Kyushu, Nishi-Nippon Shimbun
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By the ID Tech Editorial Team
