Japan focuses on deep-sea water for business

Japan (February 19, 2001) - Salt water deep in the sea beyond the reach of sunlight is the center of attention among local Japanese government officials, fishermen and businesspeople who want to use it for new business ventures.

They are interested in salt water located more than 200 meters below the surface of the sea.

As part of efforts to promote local regions, officials are wooing companies to establish business operations using deep-sea water for fisheries, foodstuffs, cosmetics and pharmaceutics.

They are also striving for research and development. Experts say such water is not polluted with chemicals and bacteria and contains more inorganic nutritional salts, including nitrogen and phosphorus, than the water on the surface of the sea.

Some people have dubbed the deep-sea water a gift or a 21st century resource that could help Japan's sluggish fisheries industry and be useful to foster local areas.

The Kochi prefectural government in Shikoku, western Japan, opened "Aqua Farm" in the city of Muroto in April last year - the first facility in the country designed to take in deep-sea water for commercial purposes.

The daily volume of water gathered amounts to 4,000 tons. It is provided to a variety of businesses ranging from foodstuff to mineral water makers.

A truck driver for a nearby company said his company uses it to make mineral water. But he said the deep-sea water is "good for drinking and cooking".

Kochi was ahead of all others in 1989 when the prefectural government and the then Science and Technology Agency jointly set up in Muroto a research center and a pipe to obtain deep-sea water.

The prefectural government began offering the water to companies in 1995 and created a deep-sea water office in 1997 to lure private sector businesses.

Namerikawa in Toyama Prefecture on the Japan Sea coast is a small city. But its health improvement amenities, called "Thalassopia", had about 43,700 visitors from April last year to January this year. In 1995, it became Japan's second city to have the equipment to bring in water from deep in the sea.

Thalassopia, featuring the water taken in by the equipment, opened in 1998 under joint management of the municipality and the private sector.

Munetsugu Tsubokawa, an official of the city office's commerce and fisheries section, said the municipality subsidizes Thalassopia with about 20 million yen a year but "its effect is great because the city...gets so many visitors". By the end of the current fiscal year in March, the city is expected to get more visitors than the near 51,000 who came during fiscal 1999.

Toyama is going its own way in the utilization of deep-sea water against a backdrop of a serious impact to the prefecture's mainstay fisheries industry due to the depletion of resources.

Emphasizing fisheries research, Toyama is breeding shrimp and trout. The prefecture is also conducting research into the development of pharmaceutical goods.

Deep-water collection facilities are due to be completed in the town of Nyuzen in Toyama during fiscal 2001 starting in April. The town has been hard hit by declines in its fish catch and a fisheries agreement between Japan and South Korea.

Nyuzen plans to use half the volume of deep-sea water it collects for fish culture. The other half will be used in breeding facilities for raising fish for sushi.

A variety of new products, including mineral water, are being made in Muroto thanks to the health boom sweeping Japan. Yoshizumi Asakawa, president of a natural foods company bearing his family name, said his firm exports bottles of mineral water made of deep-sea water to Taiwan and is studying the possibility of selling them in South Korea and Singapore.

Muroto City officials said 103 companies use deep-sea water collected in Muroto to produce about 300 items.

There are other companies that plan to open branches in the city and create jobs for about 200 people.

The city also is going ahead with plans to establish deep-water facilities, similar to Namerikawa's Thalassopia.

Source : Kyodo (February 19, 2001)