Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; led by President and CEO Masahiro Miwa; hereinafter “the Company”) will enter into the agricultural sector as part of efforts to expand its real estate business. We hereby announce that, as part of this initiative, we partnered with Nihon Agri, Inc. (headquartered in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; led by CEO Shohei Naito; hereinafter “Nihon Agri”) to establish Nippon Steel Kowa Real Estate Agri Co., Ltd. on December 12, 2025.
For our first project, we will begin producing apples in April 2026 on approximately five hectares of company-owned idle land in Muroran, Hokkaido, using high-density planting methods, which are attracting attention for their potential to deliver earlier and higher yields.
Going forward, we will gradually expand our farmland over a wide area, and through the production of a variety of crops, we aim to become an agri-developer that connects and grows with the local community.

Japanese agriculture is facing serious challenges such as a declining and aging working population, stagnant productivity, and climate change. The government has been promoting greater corporate participation and larger-scale farming operations with the aim of increasing agricultural exports to ¥5 trillion and raising the country's food self-sufficiency rate to 45%*2 by 2030.
The Company has long operated business sites in areas surrounding Nippon Steel’s steelworks and has consistently been engaged in community development alongside the steelworks by building residential developments and large-scale commercial facilities, primarily on idle land within the steelworks sites. In addition to the relationships of trust that we have cultivated with local governments through our extensive track record, our deep understanding of the industrial structure, demographics, and land use of each area serves as the foundation for our recent entry into the agricultural business.
Building on this understanding of regional communities, we gained expertise and expanded our network in the agricultural sector by investing in and entering into a business and capital alliance*3 with AGRIST Inc., a smart agriculture startup, in 2024. In addition, through our sponsorship of ONE SUMMIT, which aims to promote sustainable agriculture, forestry, and fisheries, as well as speaking engagements at seminars*4, we have exchanged views with a wide range of stakeholders, including industry professionals, policymakers, local government officials, and investors.
Through these activities, we came to recognize the importance of advancing agricultural projects as profitable, sustainable businesses that are rooted in the land, much like the real estate business. As such, we have decided to position agriculture as a new business and work to establish a suitable business model.
To advance this project, we have partnered with Nihon Agri, Inc., a next-generation agriculture company established in 2016 that has cultivated a business spanning the production, sale, and export of agricultural products. By drawing on their expertise and working alongside them as we move forward, we aim to establish the business on a solid foundation. Having worked with land through our real estate business, the Company views agriculture as a natural extension of those efforts. By generating sustainable profits, we will continue creating value for the regions where we operate.

The location for our first project site is Muroran, Hokkaido, where we have developed a strong relationship of trust with the local government through years of community development. We chose this site for our entry into the business because it provided an environment in which we could quickly and flexibly proceed with discussions on land use.
In addition, after working with Nihon Agri to closely study the climatic conditions and land characteristics of the region, we determined that Muroran could be suitable as a new site for apple cultivation in light of the recent northward shift of production areas due to rising temperatures. In addition, we consider apples to be a promising crop for the future based on a comprehensive assessment of factors, including their potential for high-density planting, a cultivation method also used by Nihon Agri that supports more intensive cultivation and greater productivity, as well as robust domestic demand and marketability for growing export opportunities.

The Company views agriculture as a new business area where we can leverage our wide range of assets. As an agri-developer, we will look beyond the idle land owned by the Company and operate across a broader area to cultivate crops suited to each location. In doing so, we aim to establish a large-scale production system spanning 100 hectares within the next decade.
In addition to expanding the scale of production, we also plan to develop distribution infrastructure and branding, as well as develop tourist farms, including lodging facilities, in the areas surrounding our production sites.