Accelerating Value Creation by Scientifically Utilizing the Power of Nature: The 'Phytoscience Initiative' Launches
– First Phase: Grand Opening of 'FARMO,' an Algae Farm, in Kumejima, Okinawa.
April 15, 2025
ROHTO Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Ikuno-ku, Osaka; President: Masafumi Sugimoto) has announced a new business strategy, the "Phytoscience Initiative," which aims to scientifically unravel the power of nature and return it to modern society, based on its 126-year history. In order to accelerate the promotion of research and commercialization in collaboration with internal and external partners, the company has established the "Phytoscience Research Institute" (located within Rohto Pharmaceutical's headquarters in Ikuno-ku, Osaka) as a core function. In addition, together with its group company, Rohto F Okinawa Co., Ltd. (Uruma City, Okinawa Prefecture; President: Ken Nakahara), the company will grand open "Algae Farm FARMO," Japan's first algae farm *, in Kumejima Town, Okinawa Prefecture on April 17, 2025. This initiative will serve as a tourism service for Kumejima while promoting the full-scale operation of the algae industry and aiming to create a sustainable society that utilizes local resources.
*Algae farm: A facility that integrates algae research, production, processing, and tourism services.
Background and Overview of the "Phytoscience Initiative"
For 126 years since our founding, we have contributed to people's health by extracting medicinal effects from herbal medicines and plants, starting with the gastrointestinal medicine "Ikatsu," and continuing with the skin medicine "Mentholatum" and key ingredients in eye drops such as menthol and glycyrrhizic acid. On the other hand, in 2025, as society faces increasingly serious social issues such as environmental problems, regional challenges, food crises, and an aging population, a more innovative approach is needed.
The "Phytoscience Initiative" is a new business strategy aimed at solving these social issues and developing the health industry by utilizing local natural materials and technologies. Based on our past experience, we are once again focusing on the activity and function (phytopower) of materials that exist in nature. By using cutting-edge science to unravel the unique local climate, soil, resources, and technologies that are the source of this power, we aim to expand the value and potential of phytopower and return it to society in a sustainable way.
- Research and Development (R&D): Exploring diverse phytoresources such as algae, herbal medicine, crude drugs, and fermentation technologies.
- Regional collaboration: Utilization of resources in specific regions, cooperation with local communities, and regional revitalization.
- Business Development: Supporting health through utilization in various fields such as food, cosmetics, pharmaceuticals, functional materials, agricultural materials, and aquatic feed.
First project: Grand opening of Japan's first "Algae Farm FARMO"
As the first step in our "Phytoscience Initiative," we will open "FARMO," an algae farm, in Kumejima Town, Okinawa Prefecture. This will be Japan's first facility that integrates algae research, production, processing, and tourism services, aiming to create a sustainable society utilizing local resources and to popularize the algae industry.
Utilizing local resources and giving back to society:
We will implement the "Kumejima Model," which utilizes deep-sea water from Kumejima Island, and contribute to the revitalization of the local economy.
Popularization and increased awareness of the algae industry:
This facility integrates production, processing, and services, providing a place where people can experience algae as a readily accessible resource.
Contributing to a sustainable future:
We will address food and environmental issues through algae cultivation, which has a low environmental impact.
Integrated research and development platform:
As a place for creating new value through industry-academia collaboration and regional cooperation, we will utilize it as a research and development platform with a view to various businesses in the future, such as food and skincare.
Overview of "Algae Farm FARMO"
| location |
493-5 Majya, Kumejima-cho, Shimajiri-gun, Okinawa 901-3104, Japan |
| Facility Overview |
Algae cultivation house
・Algae Research Institute
• Rest area inside the house
Cafe
• Facilities for sightseeing tours |
| Opening day |
April 17, 2025 |
| Main Business Activities |
Development of functional materials
- Manufacturing of food and functional foods
- Production of aquatic feed and animal feed
• Development of agricultural materials
- Popularization of the algae industry and contribution to local communities |
Rohto Pharmaceutical's connection to Kumejima Island
Since 2013, our company has been working in Okinawa Prefecture on circular industries and sixth-sector industrialization through livestock farming, agricultural products, and processing and sales. In Kumejima, we resonated with the "Kumejima Model," a self-sustaining, circular town development project that utilizes deep-sea water, which boasts the largest water intake volume in Japan, in multiple stages. Since 2016, we have been collaborating with the island, including participating in agricultural demonstration projects utilizing deep-sea water.
* Kumejima Model: A model of a self-sustaining, circular society that utilizes the renewable "deep-sea water" that is a local resource of Kumejima, aiming to promote industry and create jobs while being self-sufficient in energy, water, and food through renewable energy (Illustration: Provided by Kumejima Town).
The "Kumejimaaru" Sustainable Circular Society Model * and the Challenge of the "Connect for Well-being" Vision
*Kumejimaaru: A general term for sustainable, circular society models that originate from the "Kumejima Model," which has led to the expansion of industries.
Our company has set forth the group's comprehensive management vision for 2030, "Connect for Well-being," and we are undertaking various initiatives centered on health so that each individual can live a vibrant life, both physically and mentally. Looking not only at present well-being but also at future well-being, we aim to contribute to the "health of society" by actively participating in the construction of a next-generation social system in which people, communities, and nature are integrated and sustainable in a cyclical manner.
The "Kumejima Model," advocated by Kumejima Town, holds the potential to sustainably generate energy and industry by utilizing the inexhaustible resource of deep-sea water. Our company has expressed the system born from the Kumejima Model, in which human health, social health, and the health of the planet are interconnected in a cyclical manner, as "Kumejimaaru," and has been proposing it as a new form of lifestyle for people.
The opening of "FARMO," an algae farm, marks a crucial step in our "Phytoscience Initiative," accelerating our efforts toward realizing a sustainable society and creating new industries. Moving forward, we will continue to provide innovative solutions that harness the power of nature, contributing to people's health and well-being.