Pure Salmon Japan attracts prominent real estate company to aquaculture

This week, Pure Salmon Japan K.K. - formerly known as Soul of Japan K.K. - announced that one of Japanese most prominent real estate companies, Mori Trust Co., Ltd., has invested in 8F Aquaculture Fund Japan I LP, the venture capital fund managed by 8F Asset Management that supports its Atlantic salmon aquaculture project in Tsu City, Mie Prefecture.

The leading developer of land-based Recirculating Aquaculture System (RAS) facilities was delighted to welcome Mori Trust as a strategic partner, whose involvement, it claimed, goes far beyond capital.

According to its release, through this alliance, Pure Salmon Japan and the real estate firm will bring world-class innovation in land-based aquaculture to Japan, while contributing to the reduction of CO₂ emissions.

"In Mori Trust, we have found a partner who not only understands our ambition but also shares our conviction that aquaculture can—and must—be reimagined for a more sustainable world," said the CEO of Pure Salmon Japan, Erol Emed.

"This investment is about more than capital. It's a long-term commitment to food security, environmental responsibility, and transformational industry leadership," he added.

Japanese people demand sustainable seafood

The release did not disclose, however, the amount Mori Trust has invested in 8F Aquaculture Fund Japan I LP. In any case, the amount will be in addition to the USD 460 million that 8F Asset Management raised in January this year for what is its third aquaculture fund.

The project, as mentioned, contemplates the construction of the largest land-based Atlantic salmon farm in Japan. With an annual production target of 10,000 tons, it has also had a USD 210 million long-term credit line provided by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) since June last year.

Leveraging the advanced RAS technology developed by Pure Salmon Technology, the facility will operate entirely on land, allowing for healthier, fresher, antibiotic-free salmon farming in a biosecure environment, protected from marine contaminants, viruses, and parasites.

With shipments scheduled to begin in 2027, the company said the project will improve Japan's self-sufficiency, as the country is currently almost 100% dependent on Atlantic salmon imports - only Proximar Seafood, whose first commercial harvest was in September 2024, is currently producing it in the country.

Pure Salmon Japan added that the project also addresses the Asian country's growing demand for safe, fresh, high-quality, and sustainable seafood. And, if Japanese people are demanding sustainable seafood, Japanese capital seems to be responding.

Japanese capital responds to sustainable seafood demand

Mori Trust's investment in the land-based salmon producer is, in fact, a new example of something that, while not yet a trend, we are seeing with some frequency lately in Japan: the incursion of companies unrelated to this industry in seafood-related projects.

We have found this recently with the example of shopping mall operator Lumine Inc., which, together with food retail expert Myu Planning, has partnered with Maruha Nichiro to open the Japanese seafood giant's first restaurant, which will happen in September in Tokyo.

Themed 'One Fish a Day', the space will focus on sustainable, enjoyable fish-based diets, contributing to the 'Planetary Health Diet' initiative, a concept of people and planet-friendly food to enrich both people's lives and the planet for the next 100 years, in which Maruha Nichiro, in turn, partners with the University of Tokyo (UTokyo) and, most surprisingly, with the East Japan Railway Company (JR East).

A railway company participating in a seafood-related business? It may sound weird, but in Japan, it is no exception, as, in January this year, we also learned that Japan's Shikoku Railway Company (JR Shikoku) had confirmed plans to build a new land-based salmon farm in Saijo City, Ehime Prefecture.