Masuo Fujio, President and Representative Director, Shinmei Holdings Co., Ltd.

2026.05.29

Contributing to Japanese agriculture and dietary habits with a new business model.

Shinmei Holdings Co., Ltd. President and Representative Director: Mitsuo Fujio

■ Profile
After graduating from university in 1989, he joined Shinmei Co., Ltd. (now Shinmei Holdings Co., Ltd.) and became president in 2007 as the fourth-generation head of the long-established rice wholesale company. In 2009, he was diagnosed with acute myeloid leukemia but recovered after six months.
Expanding its business domain from rice to produce, seafood, and restaurants, the company has built an agri-food value chain connecting upstream to downstream. Currently, it aims to become an agricultural platform provider and is working towards the sustainable development of Japanese agriculture and food.

Shinmei Holdings, a company with a long history rooted in rice wholesale, has been actively expanding its business by entering the fresh produce and restaurant industries. We spoke with President Masuo Fujio, the fourth generation of the founding family, about his student days as an heir, the problems facing Japanese agriculture, the transformation of their business model, and their future outlook.

I was born the fourth generation of a family that founded a rice wholesale business, so from around the age of three, I was always told, "You're the heir." My grandfather opposed me going to university and told me to start working at a rice milling factory as soon as I graduated from high school. However, I wanted to go to university, so I managed to persuade him to let me attend on the condition that I work at the rice milling factory while studying. The first job I had at the rice milling factory was "loading," which involved pouring rice that had been transported by truck from the production area into tanks. It was the most physically demanding job, but this experience helped me develop perseverance for hard work. And most importantly, I got to see the rice up close and personally check its quality, so I learned more and more about rice. After that, I gained experience in various departments and learned all the processes from input to output during this period. This experience proved to be very useful later on, as I was able to explain everything about the rice milling factory to buyers from our valued customers when they came to visit during sales calls, so it was a very valuable experience.

■From rice wholesaler to agrifood value chain

After graduating from university, I joined Shinmei and gained various experiences, eventually succeeding my father as president in 2007. Shinmei was originally founded in 1902 as a rice shop, and has since built its history by transitioning into a rice wholesaler. Throughout this time, we have aimed to become the number one rice wholesaler in Japan, and Shinmei has certainly grown as a result. On the other hand, on the consumption side, the diversification of Japanese food has led to a decline in rice consumption, and on the production side, various factors such as a decrease in producers have led to a decline in food self-sufficiency and a weakening of Japanese agriculture. In the midst of this transitional period, a change in the business model was necessary. When we considered how we could get people to eat more rice, we focused on the breakfast market. Many people have time for breakfast and end up eating bread, and at the time, packaged rice had a distinctive smell and sourness. So we thought that if we could provide something similar to rice cooked at home, more people would eat packaged rice for breakfast, and we started a new project. While traveling around Japan searching for places with clean water, we came across Nyuzen Town in Toyama Prefecture. Because the water quality was ideal for cooking rice, we decided to build a factory there. Our fourth factory will be completed in 2026, enabling us to provide 150 million meals annually. By improving the taste of our rice, we've expanded the popularity of packaged rice, increasing opportunities for people to eat rice. While our traditional business focused on supplying rice to supermarkets and restaurants, we've also ventured into the restaurant industry with businesses like the conveyor belt sushi restaurant "Uobei," aiming to deliver rice directly to customers. In this way, we are building an agri-food value chain that handles everything from production to delivery to the customer.

■The future of Japanese agriculture and the global food crisis

Japanese agriculture is currently in crisis. There are 850,000 rice farmers in Japan in 2020, but this number is expected to drop to less than half, around 300,000, by 2040. Consequently, production will also decrease, halving from 7 million tons per year to 3.6 million tons. Meanwhile, consumption is expected to be around 4.9 million tons per year, resulting in an annual shortage of 1.3 million tons. In other words, by 2040, there is a possibility that the supply of rice will fall short of the demand by 20-30%, which is unacceptable. I believe there are two resources that are absolutely essential for human survival: one is energy, and the other is food. If things continue as they are, Japan will face a major crisis not only in terms of energy but also in terms of food. I have been saying for a long time that a global food crisis is coming, and if that happens, Japan, with its food self-sufficiency rate of 38%, will sink. To prevent people from starving at that time, it is our challenge, and also our mission, to become self-sufficient in rice and vegetables, which have relatively high self-sufficiency rates.

■Supporting farmers as an agricultural platform provider

To address these challenges, we are promoting digitalization using drones and GPS, developing new varieties such as "Fujiyutaka," which boasts high yield, excellent taste, and early maturity, and operating a program to cultivate large-scale farmers. Furthermore, our major goal is to become an agricultural platform provider in order to strengthen the agri-food value chain. Specifically, since last year we have established the Upstream Strategic Business Division to support farmers across the country who are undertaking advanced initiatives and to work together to solve various challenges. Recently, due to the complexity of government subsidy programs for farmers, there have been requests for the creation of AI-powered agricultural advisors. We aim to properly fulfill such requests and support farmers so that they can grow.

■Message to students

I want all of you to have big dreams and goals. When you become working adults, you will face various obstacles and challenges, unlike when you were students. Even in those times, not giving up and working positively will lead to the realization of your dreams. I, too, have always set big goals and achieved them in order to realize Shinmei's corporate philosophy. Regardless of whether you are good at studying or not, I want you to have big dreams and goals and push forward with the determination to never give up no matter what happens. With that kind of belief, your dreams will surely come true.

Student Newspaper Online, April 20, 2026, Naokazu Shimada, 4th year student, Hosei University