image: Left: Planned construction site for the new land-based Benizake (sockeye salmon) aquaculture facility in the Tsushima district of Namie, Fukushima Prefecture (photographed October 27, 2025).
Top right: Benizake displayed during a trial sale in July 2023.
Bottom right: Assorted sushi platters featuring Benizake offered at retail stores during the trial sales period.
Credit: Okayama University of Science
Okayama University of Science, the NTT East Group, and Ichii Inc. (headquartered in Fukushima City), which operates supermarkets in Fukushima Prefecture, are jointly conducting demonstration experiments on land-based Benizake (sockeye salmon) aquaculture using “The Third Water.” Construction has begun on the new aquaculture facility that Ichii plans to establish in Namie Town, Fukushima Prefecture.
The new tanks will have a capacity more than eight times larger than the existing 20-ton tank at Ichii’s headquarters, marking the start of full-scale business operations. Construction will be carried out by the NTT East Group, and aquaculture technology using the Third Water will be provided by Okayama University of Science.
The facility will be built in the Tsushima district in western Namie. According to the plan, the project will include an aquaculture facility (approximately 1,000 square meters), an administrative building, and solar power generation equipment to operate pumps and related systems, on a site of about 8,000 square meters. Completion is scheduled within the year, with the goal of raising the fish from eggs and shipping them two years later.
The project has been selected for the national Subsidy for Business Location to Support Self-Reliance and Return, and Create Employment.
At present, approximately 1,500 Benizake are being raised at Ichii’s headquarters, with shipments scheduled to begin after this winter.