ThisFish Inc. has expanded into the Japanese market, landing two high-profile seafood processors involved in the country’s storied bluefin tuna trade and aquaculture sector, along with hiring two new team members to develop and service the large national market.
Yamayuki is a renowned bluefin tuna wholesaler at Tokyo’s famed Toyosu Market that has implemented ThisFish’s Tally software to enable real-time production and inventory control. Yamayuki is owned and operated by Yukitaka Yamaguchi, who secured the top tuna at the New Year’s first auction for five consecutive years. At last year’s first auction, Yamayuki secured a bluefin tuna weighing 276 kg for ¥207 million ($1.3 million USD). Yamaguchi has been aptly described in news reports as the “Tuna King,” especially since his trading house services Michelin-starred sushi restaurants in Japan’s major metropolitan areas.
Yamaguchi, the second-generation founder, has steadily strengthened the company’s domestic business and is now expanding his business globally. Implementing a real-time digital traceability system is critical for his future business expansion given import requirements in the U.S. and Europe.
ThisFish’s Tally software has also been implemented by the Mie Prefecture Fisheries Cooperative Federation. Known as Mie Gyoren, the co-operative has a 75-year history since its establishment in 1949. Focusing on the production and sale of premium farmed fish for sushi, such as red sea bream and yellowtail, the co-operative ships over 2 million fish and more than 3,000 tons of processed products annually to sushi restaurants and supermarkets nationwide, maintaining an annual turnover of approximately ¥42 billion ($270 million USD). Moving forward, the co-operative aims to manufacture and ship products for overseas markets.
Mie Gyoren implemented ThisFish’s Tally software in its Miura Live Fish Distribution Center located in the fishing port of Miura at the entrance of the Tokyo harbour. The software is being used to improve their traceability system and provide real-time production data to supervisors. The co-operative wanted to move to a secure digital cloud platform that was user friendly for their blue-collar workers.
Japan is a critical market for ThisFish, given both its market size and the economic pressures on the domestic seafood industry. With an aging population and shrinking workforce, Japanese seafood processors have become more dependent on foreign workers and so digitization and automation are key to improving the industry’s productivity. Furthermore, given that per-capita domestic seafood consumption is declining in Japan and the yen’s exchange value has declined, many domestic processors are now looking to export markets to grow their revenues. That also means meeting new traceability requirements for the European and American markets which require digital systems.
To better service the Japanese market, ThisFish Inc. has hired Hiroshi Koyanagi, a seasoned international business consultant, as its Senior Director for Business Development in Japan, and Seiji Wellman, a technical support engineer based near Tokyo. ThisFish’s Head of Customer Success is Shohei Mochizuki, a Japanese national who is based in Canada, but also helps to service the Japanese market. ThisFish has also established a channel partnership with ezoCreate, a technology company based in Hokkaido, and works in close cooperation with Nobuo Araki, BC’s Trade Commissioner based in the Canadian Embassy in Tokyo who has been a key advisor in navigating Japanese business culture and market.
PHOTO: From left to right: Shohei Mochizuki, Head of Customer Success; Seiji Wellman, Technical Support Engineer; Hiroshi Koyanagi, Senior Director of Business Development (Japan); Nobuo Araki, BC Trade Commissioner; Eric Enno Tamm, ThisFish CEO; and Takashi Oishi, President of channel partner ezoCreate Ltd.
