Japanese greenhouse operator KEI LLC has completed its new, approximately 1.5-hectare cucumber production facility in Kijo, Miyazaki prefecture, with an opening ceremony held on 13 October 2026. The site uses soilless growing and AI-supported environmental controls, but commercial cucumber production has not yet begun, according to on-site reporting by TV Miyazaki.
The facility, named Mirai Green Factory Kijo, is a high-ceiling controlled-environment glasshouse designed for hydroponic cucumbers. Local reporting describes a structure more than five metres tall and national government support of JPY 400 million for its development. That grant amount should not be confused with the complete project cost, which the report does not establish.
Hydroponic cucumbers and AI-assisted climate management
The new greenhouse will use soilless growing media and nutrient-rich irrigation rather than conventional field soil. An environmental-control system monitors conditions including sunlight, water and carbon dioxide. KEYWARE SOLUTIONS, named in the report as a technology participant, describes using AI to calculate control parameters for managing the growing environment, with staff retaining an operational role.
KEI’s representative Makoto Kuroki presented the project as a way to address climate variability and make greenhouse farming more attractive to a new generation of workers. The investment therefore combines a physical production facility with process changes to climate management and crop cultivation.
Production starts after the opening
Planting is scheduled for 26 October, with the first cucumber harvest expected in late November, according to the 13 October report. The operator’s target is approximately 70 tonnes of cucumbers per year. These are plans for the upcoming growing cycle, not harvested or independently audited output from the new greenhouse.
The operator’s own company profile identifies KEI LLC as the business behind Mirai Green Factory Kijo and confirms its location in Kijo. Its published facility-area description uses a slightly different approximate footprint; the 1.5-hectare figure here is attributed to the on-site opening report rather than presented as a surveyed measurement.
Why growers should watch the first season
For greenhouse developers, this case highlights the move from construction and an opening ceremony to the harder test of routine crop production. Important milestones include the first planting, the harvest schedule, energy and climate-control performance and whether the annual cucumber production target can be met under normal operating conditions.
AI-enabled controls and soilless cultivation are installed technologies at this facility, but no independently verified improvements in yields, labour costs, irrigation efficiency or earnings have been established from operations to date.
Key takeaways
- KEI LLC has inaugurated Mirai Green Factory Kijo, a roughly 1.5-hectare controlled-environment cucumber facility in southern Japan.
- The project received JPY 400 million in government support and includes nutrient-based cultivation and AI-assisted climate management.
- Planting is planned for 26 October, harvest from late November and annual production of about 70 tonnes; none are achieved results yet.
Featured image: greenhouse-grown cucumbers in a separate Japanese project. Illustrative photo credited to AGRIST / PR TIMES; it does not show the KEI facility or its October opening ceremony.
