Food for the future – Japan’s food tech on the rise

Japan is experiencing an unexpected rice shortage driven by misguided agricultural policy, an influx of tourists and extreme weather. When calculated by calorie consumption, Japan’s food self-sufficiency is only 38% (lower than the UK’s 61% and South Korea’s 44%), except for rice.

The Japanese government has controlled imports to ensure nearly 100% self-sufficiency in rice while limiting production to keep prices high. It is time to think about food for the future, and technology is the key.

Smart alternative food

The plant-based fish and meat industry is fast-growing in Japan, No. 2 in the number of patents related to alternative protein behind the United States. For example, a proprietary technology developed by a Kumamoto-based firm, DAIZ, is designed to “wake up” harvested soybeans (not dried seeds conventionally used in meat alternatives) in the germination process by adjusting oxygen, temperature and other pressures for sprouting. This enhances vegan meat’s umami, texture and nutrition, which one can try at a leading food chain, Freshness Burger, through its Good Burger.

Another food tech venture, Tokyo’s Next Meats, has launched vegan alternatives to barbecue meat, beef bowls, egg products and tuna. Their products are available in Japan, the U.S., Hong Kong and Singapore.

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Tofu has turned into various vegan dairy products, but how about soy uni, a sea urchin substitute made of soy milk cream by an Osaka firm, Fuji Oil, with its patented technology?

Smart food production

Food tech is also redefining the way food is produced. Satellite imagery detects land use. Robots harvest vegetables. Artificial Intelligence (AI) monitors farm management. These can reduce the cost of growing food and promote sustainability by reducing food loss and increasing yields.

For example, a Tokyo-headquartered agri-tech startup, Farmship, uses AI technology to assess the growth potential of spinach seedlings. Aquponi in Yokohama, the first Japanese company dedicated to aquaponics, sells home-use kits for around $230: all you have to do is feed the fish and herbs and greens grow while cleaning the water.

Blockchain technology for the traceability of food origin and supply chain has also recently entered the Japanese market. In 2023, a digital anti-counterfeiting platform was launched to verify the authenticity of high-value sea urchins (again!). Digital tools include 3D printing, which the National Department Store in Okayama uses to produce its signature butter and cake products.

This winter, there will be FoodTech Week in Tokyo (November 20-22, 2024) and Osaka (February 25-27, 2025). Exhibits will feature Japanese and international firms, and their technology-enhanced systems, machines and innovations for product development, manufacturing, quality control and marketing.

Food is an integral part of humanity. Through it, we experience nature, our body and senses, social relationships and much more. Food for the future can tell us what our lifestyle will be like. We should participate actively in designing it.