News Release

Cool Japan Fund Inc.
Tokyo, April 27, 2017
Investment in the Japanese Fruit and Vegetable Export Sales Business in Hong Kong－Supporting Market Growth for Japanese Agricultural Products Throughthe Construction of an Export Expansion Platform－

Cool Japan Fund (CJF) has decided to invest of up to 366 million yen to Global Ichiba Corp.
(Global Ichiba), a subsidiary of Nousouken Corporation (Nousouken), in support of establishing aJapanese agricultural product export sales business in Hong Kong.
This business will expand the local customer base and increase the consumption of Japanese fruits
and vegetables in Hong Kong by allowing many of the local supermarkets to have access at more
affordable prices, and construct a system which returns the profit earned from foreign market toproducers in Japan. This system will be enhanced as an export expansion platform in order toenlarge the Japanese agricultural products market.
The Japanese government has set a goal to export 1 trillion yen worth of agricultural, forest andfishery products as well as food products by 2019. It also enthusiastically supports the efforts ofprivate enterprises which aim to expand sales channels overseas.
Every year, over 180 billion yen worth of agricultural, forest and fishery and food products areexported to the Hong Kong market, which is the largest importer of such products. However, themajority of this consists of processed foods, while agricultural products only makes up four percent
or 7 billion yen of the total amount. Adding to this, only expensive fruits and vegetables which
can offset their high distribution costs are able to enter the market. Such fruits and vegetables
generally end up being marketed towards wealthier customers or as special gifts. In order to further
increase the volume of exports, efforts are required to increase purchases of public consumers.
Nousouken has established a direct sales platform which agricultural producers all over Japan candirectly supply their products through 61 stations of Nousouken to 934 produce stands insupermarkets with their IT system that matches demands and supplies. It has supplemented large
scale distributions, such as the Japan Agricultural Cooperatives. Nousouken also offers fresh
produce to consumers that they will be able to see who is the producers and gives opportunities toproducers to increase their revenue by allowing them to sell non-standard goods and distributeproducts of their own brand.
Nousouken has also utilized its strength in being able to procure agricultural products from various
areas in Japan throughout the year and performed market tests focused on Asia through its
subsidiary Global Ichiba. This has been done in order to explore new possibilities of exporting
agricultural products.
CJF has decided to invest up to 366 million yen in Global Ichiba to support the proper
establishment and the operation of a Japanese fruit and vegetable export sales system that will firststart in Hong Kong. It will be based on the system verified by Global Ichiba that will allow thelocals to purchase Japanese agricultural products at affordable prices consistently throughout theyear.
Contact for details regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund (PR representatives: Yuge, Nemoto) Tel: +81-03-6406-7500

Through this project, the local customer base will expand, leading to further developments inforeign demands while providing the opportunities of revenue growth to Japanese agriculturalproducers. Relevant government ministries and agencies, local public organizations and producers
throughout Japan will cooperate in order to make this a widely-available platform to distributeJapanese agricultural produce while achieving the goal of increasing the number of producers
exporting to Hong Kong to 1000 within five years. The application of the same platforms to otherareas in Asia will also be considered.. This will expand the Japanese agricultural produce market
and contribute to the Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries’ “strategy for exporting
agriculture, forestry and fisheries”.
CJF believes that bringing the entire food ecosystem, including food processing, logistics andhuman resources education functions that sustain Japan’s food market abroad is fundamental inorder to increase foreign demands for Japanese cuisine.
CJF will work on projects with various private companies to maintain developments in contact
points with customers such as restaurants and retailers from a local point of view, as well as thefunctions that sustain them.
＊Data of Stations and Produce Stands are as of April 26, 2017

[About Nousouken Corporation]
Location of Head Office:Established:
President and CEO:
Capital:Business Description:

Website:[About Global Ichiba Corp.]Location of Head Office:Established:
President and CEO:
Capital:Business Description:

Website:17-4 Kuroda Wakayama-shi, Wakayama
October, 2007
Tomomasa Oikawa
199 million Yen
Farmers’ direct sales, agricultural distribution andconsulting businesses. Manages direct produce shipping
platforms which link supermarkets and producers
throughout Japan. Expands business by supplementing
large scale circulations such as the Japan Agricultural
Cooperatives, utilizing its original system which allows
producers to decide their items, standards, prices andquantities and put them into circulation.
http://www.nousouken.co.jp/

9-5-12 Akasaka Minato Ward, Tokyo
September, 2015
Takuya Murata
30 million Yen
Exports Japanese agricultural produce overseas.
Subsidiary of Nousouken Corporation, which assumes
overseas expansion of direct produce shipping platforms.
http://sekai-ichiba.co.jp/

Contact for details regarding this document:
Cool Japan Fund (PR representatives: Yuge, Nemoto) Tel: +81-03-6406-7500