A challenge unique to a maritime nation.

This series explores the secrets behind "vibrant companies" with "originality," as uncovered by Dentsu Inc.'s "Company Design" team. The 27th installment features Ocean Solution Technology, headquartered in Kyushu, Japan, striving to revitalize the nation's fisheries industry with the power of AI (artificial intelligence). The fisheries industry connects people and the sea. Their initiative to rebuild its foundation using cutting-edge technology is full of lessons to be learned.

Written by: Yuichi Eguchi (Dentsu Kyushu Inc.)

Shaping the Future of Primary Industries

When you hear "fishing," the image that comes to mind is often that of a traditional, demanding workplace. It's not just about the physical labor done while braving the spray of waves; it's also about the idea that it's not about logic, but a serious battle where only experience cultivated over many years can be relied upon.

"That won't do," says President Mizukami of Ocean Solution Technology. I had assumed it was just about profit—how to catch fish efficiently. But it was far from that shallow. It's about how to pass down the fishermen's intuition honed over decades. How to protect Japan's marine resources, which are truly national assets. The more I listened, the more I was overwhelmed by the grand scale and lofty perspective.

Yosuke Mizukami: Representative Director and CEO, Ocean Solution Technology Co., Ltd.
Born in 1981 in Nagasaki Prefecture. Joined Sasebo Navigation Instruments Co., Ltd., a company specializing in ship maintenance and repair, in 2008. After working as a sales representative to broaden his experience, he became Senior Managing Director of the company in 2016. After learning about the current state and challenges of the fishing industry from active fishermen he met at a management seminar, he established Ocean Solution Technology in 2017. Since then, he has been involved in developing the "Triton Spear" and succeeded the previous CEO to become CEO in 2020. Believing that dialogue with fishermen is paramount, he maintains a neutral stance toward all industry stakeholders, not focusing solely on the field.

Last year, I was on business trips for over 300 days.

At the start of the interview, when asked, "Are you in Nagasaki right now?", the reply came back, "No, I'm in Tokyo." "I travel about 300 days a year," he said. "It's to hold study sessions on smart fisheries."

President Mizukami states that meeting directly with fishermen and fishing cooperative members on the front lines to hear their perspectives is paramount. This stance feels worlds apart from the image of a revolutionary figure leveraging AI to transform the fisheries industry—an image often associated with solving everything with a single click on a desk computer.

"The voices from the field are the most important thing. I don't have any experience as a fisherman myself. If I propose something thinking it's good, and they say, 'We can't use that stuff out here!' then that's the end of it. That's why I go out to the field." Right from the start of the interview, my image of him was overturned.

Fishermen's Workplace

Originally, it was a company handling maintenance for Self-Defense Force vessels

The company inherited from his grandfather originally handled maintenance for Self-Defense Force vessels. "Put positively, it was a company that could generate stable profits. It's a business with high barriers to entry for newcomers, after all. But I felt we couldn't just rest on our laurels. The more I learned, the deeper and larger the challenges facing this nation's seas became apparent. Yet few people are taking on the challenge to change that. Honestly, what I can do isn't that significant. But I just felt I had to do something."

The Triton Spear fishery support system features improved fishing efficiency through digitalized logbook data, technical knowledge transfer, and automated catch reporting. By collaborating with research institutions to utilize digitized know-how and satellite data (weather/sea condition data) for assessing and managing fishery resources, and further proposing optimized fishing operations through AI analysis, it aims to simultaneously boost fishermen's profits and achieve sustainable fisheries.

The average age of those involved in fishing is around 60. President Mizukami says young people make up only about 3%. "No matter how you look at it, there's no future in this, right? If we just leave things as they are, the knowledge and skills of veteran fishermen will disappear. In fact, we're in a situation where the moment a veteran fisherman steps off the boat, the sales drop by half."

I hadn't realized any of this. "That sense of crisis was a major driving force behind starting this business. There are about 120,000 fishing boats nationwide. How can we protect each and every one of them? After all, fish are what sustain our food supply."

I see. This made me realize anew that the fishing industry is not only our lifeline but also connects to the defense of our land and waters.

The urgent need to shift to managed fisheries

Here, President Mizukami introduced the keyword "managed fisheries." "It's a shift away from what you might call the 'Olympic-style' approach to fishing. The traditional method was essentially 'catch as much as possible before it gets caught.' But that leads to overfishing, and if you catch too much, market prices plummet. Ultimately, it puts pressure on marine resources and destabilizes the livelihoods of fishermen."

According to President Mizukami, fishermen have a strong sense of "our sea" – their territory. The Fisheries Act was revised in 2018. Yet, this information hasn't widely taken root. "Why should I listen to the government, let alone some IT company president? I work in our sea!" is the prevailing sentiment. "But if things like origin certification become much more established, I believe the fisheries industry has tremendous room for growth. Many may not know this, but origin certification lacks a clear definition and hasn't really taken root in the market yet. Improving such aspects is essential for sustainable fishing in the future."

So, data powered by AI, you mean? The picture is starting to come into focus. It's like brand theory in advertising. Just hearing "Oma tuna" makes consumers' purse strings loosen. Ah, so it's worth that much, huh? That's the idea. The question is how to build that "value." "To do that, I think we need to change the mindset of both the fishermen and the consumers."

How do you change a conservative organization?

After working in sales for a housing materials manufacturer, President Mizukami took over his family business and was surprised anew by the conservative company structure. "Honestly, in the beginning, it was a daily struggle fighting alone. I was the only one frantically thinking we had to reform the organization. But I realized I first needed to understand the very mechanisms of a conservative organization myself. Shouting 'reform, reform!' wouldn't get anyone in the company or our clients to pay attention. Learning myself first was crucial."

President Mizukami shared this anecdote: He thought putting fishing vessel operation data into a smartphone app would work well. However, 94% of those involved in the fishing industry are small-scale operators. In the midst of their busy work, especially with wet hands, they couldn't be expected to fiddle with a smartphone app. "That's when I realized: what if we had AI automatically analyze the operational data? That might solve the problem. Veteran fishermen intuitively read things like tidal currents. If we could get AI to analyze that expertise, couldn't we then pass that skill on to younger fishermen?"

President Mizukami continued. "The international competitiveness of Japan's marine products, as a maritime nation, is relatively declining. The crucial point is determining catch volumes based on supply-demand balance. Overfishing or underfishing yields poor results. This is also vital for protecting precious resources. That's precisely why we use AI. We'll use AI to open new global markets too. Japan is a country where such delicious fish can be caught, yet while Norwegian salmon enters Japan, Japanese fish hardly circulates in Europe. This isn't an exaggeration; it's a national loss, right?"

AI is by no means "omnipotent"

President Mizukami states that AI is ultimately just a tool. "The weakness of AI is that it doesn't function without sufficient training data. I believe the crucial factor is human thought – what we choose to have AI do. For instance, relying entirely on AI could dull the skills of our fishermen. That's not what AI should be used for, is it?"

President Mizukami concluded the interview with this: "I absolutely hate being told 'it can't be done.'" He meant, let's focus on what can be done. This made me realize it requires a high vantage point. It's easy to just say "Let's do it!" with empty rhetoric. Instead, we need to look at the big picture – the fishermen, the people living their lives, society, the economy – and ask: How can we improve things now and create a win-win situation?

"We don't live just for work or making money. What comes first is valuing time with our precious families. I want to think positively about how we can achieve that, and I believe I've communicated this to our employees."

A scene from my first visit to Yakushima for interviews with fishermen. The kind fisherman who came to pick me up. (Pickup was by boat) There was an incident where I arrived by ferry, stepped out of the building exit, boarded the boat again immediately, talked for about two hours, and then returned by ferry.

Our philosophy is "To continue protecting those who protect this country." By supporting primary industries that sustain life in this nation, we provide solutions for people's happiness and societal prosperity. As a social venture, we also aim to contribute to society and solve social issues.

Ocean Solution Technology's website is here.
Official YouTube channel: [ Link ]

This series, by Dentsu Inc. 's 'Company Design' team, explores the secrets behind 'vibrant companies' with 'originality.' Episode 27 introduced Ocean Solution Technology, headquartered in Kyushu, striving to revitalize Japan's fisheries industry with AI.

The Season 1 series can be found here.
The "Company Design" project site is here.

[Editor's Note]

At the end of the interview, I posed this question: "Agriculture, forestry, and fisheries are inherently high-risk occupations, aren't they? Fruits painstakingly cultivated over a year can be destroyed by a typhoon. Similarly, fishermen might set out with high hopes only to return empty-handed. How do you, as president, view this inherent high-risk nature? After all, a job providing sustenance for people's lives carries that level of risk."

President Mizukami responded: "I believe it's crucial to create systems that absorb such risks. It's not about guaranteeing fishermen specific benefits, but rather fostering mutual support across society. Take the Great East Japan Earthquake, for example. People nationwide considered what they could do for the affected areas, right? Our company's core mission is to contribute, even in small ways, to such efforts."

It's about creating a collective societal mindset that says, "This is something we absolutely must preserve," rather than just "This is convenient. Ah, I got a good deal." That spirit, I felt, is something common to all work.