Southwest Japan’s Challenges: Signs of Growth / Smart Farming Powers Kyushu’s Future as Japanese Agriculture Hub

By Hiroki Ikeda and Ken Nakao / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writers

7:00 JST, June 30, 2025

This is the fifth and last installment in a series of articles taking an in-depth look at industries with growth potential in Kyushu as well as Yamaguchi and Okinawa prefectures.

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Agritech, farming and raising livestock with the aid of cutting-edge technology, is fundamentally transforming Japan’s agricultural landscape, offering badly needed solutions to challenges like an aging workforce and shrinking arable land.

A prime example of this transformation can be seen in a paddy field in Kurate, Fukuoka Prefecture, where rice seedlings sprout in rows over 100 meters long. These rows — eight of them at a time — are now laid down by automated machinery that even sprays pesticide while planting.

On May 20, Endo Nousan Co., a local agricultural corporation which has actively embraced agritech, used two state-of-the-art farm machines to complete work on 1.1 hectares in about two hours.

“The work has become dramatically easier,” said Yukio Endo, 57, representative director of the firm, noting the machinery’s efficiency. “It evenly spaces the seedlings, and it precisely controls the location and amount of pesticides and fertilizers, enabling three tasks to be done simultaneously.”

Kubota Corp., a leading agricultural equipment company, released the machine, the “Agri Robo Rice-Transplanter,” in 2020 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price of between ¥7.05 million and ¥9.13 million. Equipped with GPS and sensors, it can operate unmanned under human supervision.

According to Kubota, the machine uses location information from multiple satellites to adjust its movements within a margin of error of just a few centimeters.

Endo Nousan cultivates about 60 hectares of farmland, including neighboring plots which no longer have anyone else to manage them. Just three people manage this extensive area — nearly nine times the size of the Mizuho PayPay Dome Fukuoka in Fukuoka — producing such crops as rice, wheat and soybeans.

While continuing to consolidate their farmland through land exchanges and other methods, the company introduced autonomous farm machinery to its operations. “With the surge in rice prices, we truly feel that our work is supporting Japan,” Endo said. “By employing agritech, we aim to prove that small numbers of people can cultivate large areas of land. We want to halt the decline of agriculture.”

Smart solutions for livestock

The adoption of agritech is also progressing among cattle farmers in Kagoshima Prefecture, known as a land of livestock. One system designed to increase breeding efficiency utilizes sensors attached to mother cows, which then transmit notifications to producers’ smartphones when the animals display signs of being in heat.

Daisaku Watariguchi, 49, who operates a livestock farm with his parents in Kimotsuki, Kagoshima Prefecture, has also adopted agritech and feels its effectiveness, Watariguchi said. “Given the uncertainty of how long my parents will be able to continue tending their livestock, new technology will unquestionably be essential to managing the farm,” he said.

According to the Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries Ministry, the total value of the agricultural output of Kyushu’s seven prefectures for 2023 was ¥1.92 trillion. Kagoshima’s production had the second highest value of any individual prefecture in Japan, while Kumamoto ranked fifth and Miyazaki ranked sixth.

Although Kyushu accounts for only about 10% of the nation’s population, area and economic output, it produces about 20% of the nation’s agricultural output. This makes agriculture a key strength for the region, which contributes significantly to the nation’s food security.

Despite this, the agricultural sector in Kyushu is grappling with significant problems in the form of an aging farming population and a shortage of labor. As of last year, the number of core agricultural workers in the region stood at about 190,000 (out of about 1.11 million across the nation), representing a 60% decline since 1995.

The average age of these workers increased by 10 years over the same time period, reaching 67.9, compared to a nationwide average of 69.2, with more than 50% of them now being 70 years old or older.

Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc., based in Tokyo, estimates that the nation’s total cultivated land area will decrease by 36% by 2050 if this trend continues. The total value of agricultural production will be halved, and food self-sufficiency on a caloric basis will drop from 38% to 29%, it said. The institute emphasizes the urgent need to introduce agritech and consolidate farmland on a large scale.

Collaboration with trading firms

Nevertheless, the prevalence of mountainous and hilly terrain in Japan presents obstacles to the effective deployment of automated farm machinery. In 2023, Japan’s average cultivated area per farm measured 3.4 hectares, a stark contrast to the U.S. average of 187.8 in the same year and the EU’s figure of 17.1 in 2020.

Under these circumstances, new initiatives are emerging in mountainous and hilly areas. One such example is Raimu Koubou Ltd., an agricultural corporation in Kunisaki, Oita Prefecture, which is venturing into onion cultivation.

Chairman Tsukasa Sato,51, established the company about 15 years ago to make a full-fledged entry into agriculture after inheriting his family’s construction business.

The company started with just 0.6 hectares of farmland, which it has since expanded to about 190 hectares, partly by leasing abandoned plots in various places throughout the city. With about 50 employees, the company produces rice and other crops, and its annual revenues have reached an estimated ¥300 million.

However, consolidating and expanding farmland is challenging in Kunisaki because of its mountainous terrain. Three years ago, Raimu began producing onions, which promise higher returns than wheat, even on scattered plots.

The company established Sojitz Oita Nojin Corp. as a joint venture with a subsidiary of major trading company Sojitz Corp. Last year, they harvested 70 tons of onions from two hectares of land as a secondary crop to rice. Sojitz Corp. ships the onions for domestic consumption. This venture has gained attention as a new business model.

They plan to increase production to 3,200 tons annually across 80 hectares in the future. “We aim to create a model case for how agriculture can be profitable,” Sato said.

‘We want Kyushu to lead’

At a time when the aging of farmers is bringing the sustainability of agriculture into doubt, what is needed to bring growth to Kyushu’s agricultural sector and help it maintain its role as a food production base?

In response to these challenges, Miyazaki Gov. Shunji Kono, chairman of the Kyushu Governors Association, stated, “While major structural reforms to the agriculture industry are underway, it is absolutely necessary to provide further support for producers’ initial investments. This requires collaboration among national, prefectural and municipal governments.”

Kimio Inagaki, a research fellow, food and agriculture value creation process manager at Mitsubishi Research Institute Inc, said: “We want Kyushu, with its many strong agricultural management entities, to lead the transformation of Japanese agriculture. Kyushu as a whole, as well as each individual prefecture, should develop their own vision and strengthen cooperation to optimize their limited resources, [such as human resources, land and budget].”

Time is running out, and the administrative and other related entities’ ability in this field is being tested.