TOKYO - A pair of brothers inspired by the manga ‘Space Brothers’ are advancing technologies for agriculture in space while also accelerating soil regeneration on Earth, achieving improvements in as little as one month through their company Toeing, led by CEO Nishida Kohei and CTO Nishida Ryoya, which is drawing attention for research that could support future space habitation and contribute to decarbonization efforts on the ground.
The brothers’ shared fascination with space began in childhood, when Ryoya first encountered ‘Space Brothers’ and was captivated by scenes of astronauts growing and eating tomatoes in orbit. The idea of living and working in space stayed with him, shaping his academic trajectory toward engineering fields related to satellites, spacecraft, and space equipment. Kohei, influenced by his younger brother, initially pursued astronomy but later shifted focus after encountering university research on technologies that could support agriculture beyond Earth.
The duo’s interest in space farming deepened when Kohei joined an entrepreneurial development program and began exploring practical applications for space-based agriculture. Realizing that Ryoya possessed the technical background needed to turn such ideas into concrete projects, Kohei brought him into the venture. Their combined expertise—Kohei’s exposure to space agriculture research and Ryoya’s training in materials science—became the foundation of Toeing’s approach.
Ryoya’s earlier work analyzing how different material structures affect performance, including experiments using 3D printers, is now directly applied to designing soil structures suitable for extreme environments. This materials-based perspective helped the brothers reimagine soil not as a static medium but as an engineered system, enabling dramatic improvements in degradation-prone or nutrient-poor environments.
The company’s technology is now being deployed in broader fields, including the use of biochar in disaster-prone regions of Japan and projects supporting soil improvement at agricultural sites overseas. These efforts point to potential applications in both space development and global decarbonization, as regenerating soil quickly can reduce CO₂ emissions from conventional land management and cut reliance on carbon-intensive fertilizers.
While space agriculture remains a long-term goal, the brothers believe the commercial foundation for such ventures is already taking shape. They note that the global market for space-related business continues to expand, and their soil-regeneration technology offers immediate value on Earth while laying the groundwork for future space-based food production.
Source: テレ東BIZ
