The Group is exploring potential sites to expand not only in Hokkaido but also in Aomori Prefecture, where it already has a sea-based large-scale salmon trout farm, the origin of its signature Aomori Salmon Trout.
Photo: Okamura Foods.
Following the meeting of its Board of Directors held on May 14, Japanese seafood company Okamura Foods announced that it will establish a new company, "scheduled to engage in the aquaculture and sales of trout and other marine products," in Hokkaido Prefecture.
The new business, which, among its establishment purposes, includes the acceleration of land-based farms' expansion, will be a joint venture between Okamura Foods' subsidiary Japan Salmon Farm Co., the Hiyama Fisheries Cooperative Association, and Yakumo Town, in Futami District, Hokkaido.
As Okamura Foods stated in the 'Medium-term Management Targets 2030' announced in February 2025, both the expansion of domestic aquaculture production and overseas wholesale operations are positioned as core growth strategies for the company.
Thus, just over a month ago, it communicated the establishment of a Netherlands wholesale subsidiary to carry out that overseas expansion, the company—which operates a vertically integrated business model encompassing aquaculture, processing, and sales—and now announced the establishment of this land-based trout farm in Yakumo for the expansion of aquaculture domestically.
Specifically, in its 'Medium-term Management Targets 2030', Okamura Foods set the objective of expanding its aquaculture production in Japan to 12,000 tons. According to the company's announcement, to achieve this, it is essential to increase the capacity of land-based farms, which currently act as a bottleneck. Therefore, the Group is exploring potential sites not only in the Hokkaido region but also in Aomori Prefecture, where it already has a sea-based large-scale salmon trout farm.
The Japanese seafood company claimed that, in expanding domestic aquaculture production, it is promoting collaboration with local governments and fisheries cooperatives, in addition to making its own investments. This new project is based on such a policy, and, as mentioned above, aims to accelerate the expansion of land-based farms.
The new venture, scheduled to be established by the end of this month, will become a subsidiary of the company's subsidiary, Japan Salmon Farm Co., Ltd.—that is, a grandchild company of Okamura Foods. According to the announcement, at the time of its creation, it will have a capital of JPY 70 million, of which Japan Salmon Farm Co., Ltd. will own 97.1% (JPY 68 million), Hiyama Fisheries Cooperative Association 1.4% (JPY 1 million), and Yakumo Town—Futami District, Hokkaido Prefecture—another 1.4% (JPY 1 million).
In its release, Okamura Foods also stated that, through the expansion of its aquaculture business, the company aims to promote the development of related industries, thereby contributing to the revitalization of the local economy and the formation of a sustainable regional society.
This philosophy, promoted by the Japanese state itself since the government developed a comprehensive strategy in 2020 to turn aquaculture into a growing industry, with the promotion of land-based aquaculture as one of its pillars, has meant that, in recent times, news about the start of new projects of this type in Japan has multiplied, often driven by investors who, on many occasions, are companies outside the seafood sector.
For example, NTT Green & Food, a subsidiary of the telecommunications company NTT Group, announced in November 2025 its plans to build a land-based aquaculture project for Coho salmon and trout in Kesennuma City, Miyagi Prefecture. Previously, in February, it had already announced the development of an ICT-enabled land-based aquaculture system, thus making public its commitment to land-based fish farming as a solution to revitalize rural areas and strengthen food security in Japan.
Previously, in January, the Shikoku Railway Company had confirmed its plans to build a new land-based salmon farm in Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture; and a few months later, in July, the real estate company Mori Trust Co., Ltd., invested in 8F Aquaculture Fund Japan I LP, the venture capital fund managed by 8F Asset Management that supports Pure Salmon Japan's land-based farm project in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture.
All this is in addition to the financial support that Japanese banks offer to projects founded with foreign capital, such as Proximar Seafood—of Norwegian origin—which, fully committed to the importance of local production, is increasingly expanding Japanese hirings at all levels of the company, from operators to executive positions.
