is a Japanese seafood company, beginning its operation in 1880, when its founder, Ikujiro Nakabe, began a fish sale business in Osaka. The company is the largest of its kind in Japan, with Nippon Suisan Kaisha and Kyokuyo Co., Ltd. as its main competitors.
Group Slogan is "Bringing Delicious Delight to the World."
Umios has subsidiaries in Japan, New Zealand, Australia, the United States, across Europe, Asia and South America.
On March 1, 2026, Maruha Nichiro rebranded to Umios.
History 1880 - The founder, Ikujiro Nakabe, begins purchasing fish from fishermen for sale to wholesalers at the wholesale fish market in Osaka. 1904 - Operation base moved to Shimonoseki in Yamaguchi Prefecture. Begins purse seine fishing with early power boats. 1924 - Incorporated as K.K. Hayashikane Shoten, ending the era of private operation. Fishing operations expanded to include steam trawling, danish and purse seining, and fishing with traps. 1929 - Enyo Whaling Co. Ltd incorporated by Nakabe for shorebased whaling. 1936 - Taiyo Whaling Co. Ltd incorporated by Nakabe for whaling in the Antarctic. Operated two 20,000 ton factory ships and 19 whale catchers. 1943 - Hayashikane Shoten, Enyo Whaling, and Taiyo Whaling consolidated into one corporation. Corporate name changed to Nishi Taiyo Gyogyo Tosei K.K. 1945 - Corporate name changed to Taiyo Gyogyo K.K. (Taiyo Fishery Co., Ltd.) (virtually all overseas assets and operations lost at the end of World War II) 1949 - Corporate headquarters moved to Tokyo Taiyo professional baseball club (present-day Yokohama DeNA BayStars) established 1951 - Overseas operations started 1960 - Operations expanded from the marine products business into feeds and livestock production 1978 - New headquarters building completed in central Tokyo 1993 - New trademark adopted and corporate name changed to Maruha Corporation (Maruha Kabushiki Kaisha) 1996 - Acquisition of Taiyo Seafoods Co., Ltd. 2002 - Sold Yokohama BayStars to Tokyo Broadcasting System 2004 - Maruha Group Inc. established as a holding company 2007 - Economic union of Maruha Group Inc. and Nichiro Corporation merged into Maruha Nichiro Holdings, Inc. 2014 - Reorganization of the company structure and adoption of the Maruha Nichiro Corporation name and listing of the company's stock on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. 2022 - Removed from Nikkei 225 2026 - Changed its name to Umios Corporation (Umios Kabushiki Kaisha)
See also
Fishing industry in Japan
References
External links