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Amazon Go Has a Real Rival in Japan and Its Stock is Soaring

  • ‘Super Wonder Register’ system lets shoppers grab and go
  • Signpost up 50-plus percent since cashierless kiosk announced
A cashierless kiosk at Akabane Station.
A cashierless kiosk at Akabane Station.Photographer: Kiyoshi Ota/Bloomberg
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Amazon.com Inc. is betting that stores of the future won’t have any clerks or registers. A company in Japan thinks it can get there first.

Signpost Corp., which has a staff of about 100, has already deployed its technology in a kiosk on the platform of a train station in Tokyo. It’s an ideal testing ground: a small space no bigger than a bedroom with dedicated entry and exit points, and commuters in a hurry.