Oishii Opens Japan R&D Hub to Transform Vertical Farming

A company famous for growing the world's sweetest strawberries indoors just opened a research hub that could change how we think about farming forever.

Oishii launched its Open Innovation Center in Hamura, Tokyo, on August 5, 2026. The facility is the first of its kind, dedicated entirely to cracking the toughest problems in vertical farming: how to grow more food, more sustainably, with better flavor, all while making the technology work at scale.

The timing couldn't be better. After nearly a decade of growing pesticide-free, non-GMO strawberries and produce in vertical farms, Oishii secured $150 million in Series C funding this May. That investment is now fueling expansion across the United States and Japan, with this research center serving as the innovation engine.

Founder and CEO Hiroki Koga chose Japan specifically for its deep expertise in both agriculture and advanced manufacturing. These two fields hold the keys to making indoor farming work: precision growing techniques meet robotics, AI, and cutting-edge engineering.

The approach is already producing results. NTT, a major Oishii investor, is collaborating on optical systems that control pests and diseases without chemicals. They're also testing voltage-controlled refrigeration technology that keeps strawberries fresh longer, preserving that just-picked quality from farm to table.

Japan's government is paying attention too. "By combining Japan's exceptional crop varieties with the advanced technologies cultivated through its manufacturing sector, including robotics, and further enhancing them with emerging technologies such as AI, we can create unique value for the world," said Norikazu Suzuki, Japan's Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries, at the opening ceremony.

The Ripple Effect

This research center represents more than one company's expansion. As climate change threatens traditional farming and populations grow, vertical farming offers a path to fresh, local produce regardless of weather, season, or arable land. Every breakthrough at this center could help communities worldwide grow food closer to where people actually live.

The collaboration model matters just as much as the technology. By bringing together experts from different industries, Oishii is creating space for unexpected solutions to emerge. A robotics engineer might see a plant problem differently than an agronomist, and that fresh perspective could unlock answers neither would find alone.

Koga puts it simply: "Building Oishii over the last ten years has given us a much clearer understanding of where some of the hardest questions in indoor agriculture lie. The Open Innovation Center gives us a place to bring that experience together with people who have spent their careers approaching these questions from very different fields."

The facility will research everything from new fruit and vegetable varieties to automated cultivation systems that could make vertical farming more accessible to smaller operators and communities.

Fresh, flavorful food grown without pesticides, available year-round in any climate—that future just got a dedicated home in Tokyo.