Accelerating Digital Transformation in Hiroshima's Oyster Aquaculture
Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc.
Applied Services: AWS, Security, Energy & Resources
Date Published: 29 SEP 2025
Chugoku Electric Power Co., Inc., through its Energia Research Institute Chemistry & Biotechnology Group, developed "Kaki Navi" — an AI-powered web application that analyzes images of oyster larvae to determine optimal seed collection timing. The project, which began around 2017 in collaboration with the University of Tokyo, Sharp Corporation, NTT DOCOMO, and Cecil Research Co., serves oyster farmers across Hiroshima Prefecture, Miyagi, and Okayama.
Digital Transformation for Regional Industry: An Energy Provider's Perspective
For Chugoku Electric Power, Kaki Navi represented a commitment beyond core energy services — using the company's technical capabilities to revitalize regional industries facing labor shortages and productivity challenges.
"For a fisherman, the greatest challenge is the physical toll of traveling to a site and performing heavy seed collection work, only to return empty-handed."
— Mr. Toshiharu Yanagawa, Chugoku Electric Power
Navigating Strict Security for Public-Facing Services
Moving from R&D pilot to production-grade infrastructure required satisfying much stricter internal security standards — a challenge compounded by the project's hard summer deadline.
"Moving from R&D and limited demonstration trials to a service used broadly by the public meant we had to satisfy much stricter internal standards. The deciding factor was Classmethod's commitment to a long-term partnership."
— Ms. Yurika Nishida, Project Lead, Chugoku Electric Power
Key Project Constraints
- • Mandatory compliance with strict utility-sector security standards
- • Hard summer deadline — oyster seeding occurs only in summer, requiring mid-June launch
- • Limited organizational experience with public-facing AWS services
- • AI model training required 1,000+ images for accurate larval detection
A Collaborative Project Balancing Speed and Quality
Classmethod implemented a secure AWS environment with Trend Micro Cloud One for IPS/IDS intrusion detection, and structured the engagement around weekly three-party collaboration meetings. Comprehensive security documentation mapped countermeasures directly to each requirement, streamlining the internal audit process.
"When presented with multiple technical pathways, the team provided data-backed recommendations paired with comprehensive context. Through this experience, we have established a blueprint for building secure, external-facing digital services."
— Ms. Yurika Nishida, Project Lead, Chugoku Electric Power
"As the client, we were initially worried about the deadline. However, the process was smoother than we ever anticipated."
— Mr. Tsukasa Yoshizaki, Client Representative
Production Success and Future Outlook
Results Achieved
- • Infrastructure deployed in 2.5 months — ahead of the 3-month target
- • Mid-June production launch achieved; security audit cleared same-day with only minor findings
- • Kaki Navi reduces oyster seed collection work by 1–2 days per cycle
- • AI image processing: ~1 minute per image for larval detection
- • Blueprint established for future public-facing digital services at Chugoku Electric Power
Kaki Navi now serves oyster farmers across Hiroshima, Miyagi, and Okayama prefectures, providing AI-driven guidance that reduces labor intensity and improves seed collection success rates. For Chugoku Electric Power, the project has opened a new chapter in how the company contributes to regional industries beyond traditional energy services.
This case study uses AWS Security and Cloud Infrastructure Services.
Classmethod helps organizations navigate strict security compliance requirements while delivering cloud infrastructure on aggressive timelines — from utility-sector standards to financial services compliance frameworks.