Tohoku Region's First: "AI-Powered Next-Generation Wasabi Farm" Revitalizing an Abandoned School in Shiwa Town, Iwate Prefecture, Commences Operations

NEXTAGE Inc., an agritech company aiming for automated wasabi cultivation (Head office registration: Meguro-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Takuya Nakamura), has jointly introduced its first "Built-in Wasabi Cultivation Module" in Shiwa Town, Shiwa-gun, Iwate Prefecture, with SBI Smart Energy Co., Ltd. (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and President: Takeshi Kawahara), a company engaged in renewable energy business.
This project aims to realize a "circular agriculture model" by utilizing an abandoned school facility in Shiwa Town (former Katayose Elementary School) and integrating renewable energy with advanced agricultural technology.

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■ Project Background

Areas such as Miyamori district in Tono City, Iwate Prefecture, have long been known for their thriving wasabi cultivation.

However, in recent years, due to the effects of global warming, water temperatures and environmental changes have been significant, making stable cultivation difficult.

In response to these challenges, NEXTAGE has developed indoor wasabi cultivation technology.

By creating a cultivation environment unaffected by external factors and utilizing IoT and AI for advanced control, stable year-round production is now possible.

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■ Features of the Initiative

(1) Effective Utilization of Abandoned School Facilities

This project utilizes the former Katayose Elementary School, an abandoned school in Shiwa Town. It reuses idle assets dormant in the community to create new industrial value.

(2) Utilization of Renewable Energy

The electricity used in the facility is supplied by SBI Smart Energy, utilizing renewable energy such as solar power generation. This realizes local production and consumption of agriculture and energy.

(3) Introduction of Built-in Module (NEXTAGE's First)

The built-in module introduced this time is designed to be optimized and integrated into existing buildings, offering superior space efficiency and expandability compared to conventional container-type modules.

(4) Smart Cultivation with IoT and AI

Temperature, water quality, and light levels are controlled in real-time to optimize the wasabi growing environment. This enables highly reproducible cultivation that does not depend on experience.

(5) Addressing Growing Global Demand and Domestic Supply Challenges

In recent years, with the global spread of Japanese cuisine, the demand for wasabi has continued to expand, especially overseas. Domestically, however, production has been on a declining trend due to a decrease in producers and the impact of climate change, making the establishment of a stable supply system a major challenge. This initiative is expected to be a new model for achieving stable production in Japan against the backdrop of this supply-demand gap, contributing to future strengthening of supply capacity and expansion of exports.

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■ Significance as a "Circular Agriculture Model"

This project is a new regional revitalization model that combines:

　Reuse of idle assets (abandoned schools)

　Local production and consumption of renewable energy

　Creation of high-value-added agriculture

Furthermore, this project is being promoted based on the "Shiwa Town Public Property Utilization Project" for which SBI Smart Energy was selected.

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■ Representative Comments

SBI Smart Energy Co., Ltd. - Representative Director and President Takeshi Kawahara

■ NEXTAGE Inc. Company Profile