Ichigo Inc.
Native name
いちご株式会社
Ichigo Kabushiki-gaisha
TypePublic KK
TYO: 2337
First Section, Tokyo Stock Exchange
IndustryReal estate and renewable energy
PredecessorsAsset Managers Holdings, Ichigo Group Holdings
FoundedMarch 17, 2000 (2000-03-17)
Headquarters
Imperial Hotel Tower
1-1-1, Uchisaiwaicho
Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
,
Japan
Key people
  • Scott Callon (Chairman)
  • Kenji Iwasaki (Chairman)
  • Takuma Hasegawa (President)
Revenue¥83.5 billion (February 28, 2019)
¥15.4 billion (February 28, 2019)
Websitewww.ichigo.gr.jp/en

Ichigo Inc. (いちご株式会社, Ichigo Kabushiki-gaisha) is a Japanese sustainable infrastructure company based in Tokyo. It is active in real estate, renewable energy, asset management, boutique hotels, precision agriculture, anime production and other businesses.

Ichigo's sustainable infrastructure businesses share a common goal of promoting socially and environmentally sound development.[1][2] In real estate, Ichigo specializes in the renovation and improvement of existing buildings, an approach that challenges the demolition and redevelopment prevalent in Japan's real estate industry.[3] The company also manages publicly listed funds investing in offices, hotels, and solar power plants.[4] As of 2019, Ichigo and its subsidiaries own and manage some 520 billion yen worth of real estate, centered on the Tokyo metropolitan area.[5]

In 2019, Ichigo became a top partner of the J.League, Japan's professional football league, in an agreement that will allow Ichigo to renovate and manage stadiums.[6][7]

In renewable energy, it is one of Japan's largest independent solar power producers, owning or operating 60 solar and wind plants across Japan as of February 2020, including the largest solar plant in the Kanto region around Tokyo. It is building a wind farm near Fukushima, and also operates floating solar plants.[8][9]

In 2017, Ichigo opened one of the first boutique hotels in Japan, in the port city of Yokohama.[10] Ichigo opened a second boutique hotel in Tokyo's Shinjuku district,[11][12] and is now building and operating boutique hotels across Japan.[13]

In 2019, Ichigo started investing in Japanese anime, including the latest production by Mamoru Oshii, known for Ghost in the Shell. The series, called Vladlove, is written by Oshii and co-directed by Junji Nishimura.[14] The move has been described in The Japan Times as part of a new wave in financing Japanese anime that will challenge the “sclerotic production committee system” and give more creative freedom to directors like Oshii.[15] Ichigo also owns the Akiba Cultures Zone, a large retail building in Tokyo's Akihabara neighborhood that is a center for Japan's anime subculture.[16]

Ichigo builds and leases smart greenhouses, which use sensors and processors from the IoT (Internet of Things) to optimize levels of CO2, water and other inputs to increase agricultural yields.[17]

The company was founded in 2000 as Asset Managers, which was a leader in the securitization of nonperforming loans. In 2008, Ichigo Asset Management, a long-term Japan investor, became its largest shareholder.[18][19] The company changed its name to Ichigo Group Holdings two years later, and in 2015 simplified that to Ichigo Inc. The name comes from Ichi-go ichi-e, an ancient Japanese idiom meaning “one lifetime, one encounter.”[20]

The company also sponsors several internationally competitive athletes, including Olympic medalist weightlifter Hiromi Miyake, who has been an Ichigo employee since 2007.

See also

References

  1. ↑ "Research Memo: Ichigo Aiming for Growth as a 'Sustainable Infrastructure Company'". Money Voice (in Japanese). 2019-06-03. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  2. ↑ "Scott Callon". International Corporate Governance Network. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  3. ↑ Berg, Nate (2017-11-16). "Raze, Rebuild, Repeat: Why Japan Knocks Down its Houses After 30 Years". The Guardian. Retrieved 2018-09-06.
  4. ↑ "Japan REITs Step Up ESG Initiatives, but Governance Still Lags". REIT Asia Pacific. February 2019. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  5. ↑ "Financial Information". Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  6. ↑ "J.League Chairman Murai Says Ichigo to Bring 'Knowledge of Real Estate Very Important to J.League's Future'". J.League Watcher (in Japanese). 2019-02-05. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  7. ↑ "J.League Signs Top Partner Contract with Ichigo". Nikkan Sports (in Japanese). 2019-01-24. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  8. ↑ Morais, Lucas (2019-07-04). "Ichigo Switches on 2.8-MW Floating PV Plant in Osaka". Renewables Now. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  9. ↑ "Energy: We own and manage clean energy plants across Japan". Ichigo Inc. Retrieved 2019-11-01.
  10. ↑ Hasegawa, Aya (2017-12-07). "Even the Furniture is For Sale: The Grand Opening of THE KNOT YOKOHAMA". Vogue Japan (in Japanese). Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  11. ↑ Bhattacharya, Suryatapa (2019-12-23). "Tokyo's Coolest New Hotels". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 2020-01-27.
  12. ↑ "Ichigo's Second Boutique Hotel, THE KNOT TOKYO Shinjuku, Opens in August". Diamond Magazine (in Japanese). 2018-07-12. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  13. ↑ "FIM Group Current Observations: Ichigo Inc". September 2018. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  14. ↑ Milligan, Mercedes (2019-05-15). "Mamoru Oshii Creating Debut Series for New Ichigo Animation Studio". Animation Magazine. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  15. ↑ Kelts, Roland (2019-07-04). "Anime's Aging but Active Artists: Mamoru Oshii on his Latest Project, 'Vladlove'". The Japan Times. Retrieved 2019-07-10.
  16. ↑ Loo, Egan (2019-05-15). "Ghost in the Shell Director Mamoru Oshii Creates New Anime Series for 2020". Anime News Network. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  17. ↑ "The Smart Greenhouses of Miyazaki: Using IoT Technology to Help a Young Farmer Realize His Dreams". 2019-06-15. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  18. ↑ Obe, Mitsuru (2019-05-28). "Japan Real Estate Recovery Defies Demographic Decline". Nikkei Asian Review. Retrieved 2019-07-11.
  19. ↑ "Scott Anderberg Callon". Bloomberg News. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
  20. ↑ "Scott Callon: How An American Corporate Governance Specialist Takes A Zen Approach To Investing In Japan". Forbes. 2018-03-01. Retrieved 2019-07-12.
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