At Causevest one of our least known cause categories is the awards category Altruistic Entrepreneurs: people who use business, innovation and commercial success to make a positive difference in the world. We also have an award category dedicated to recognising entrepreneurs who put altruism into action, and Kiyoshi Kimura will be nominated for consideration.
Known as Japan’s “Tuna King”, Kimura built Sushi Zanmai into a major Japanese sushi chain, opening the first restaurant in Tokyo’s Tsukiji district in 2001. He’s famous for spending millions of dollars on bluefin tuna at Tokyo’s annual New Year auction. In January 2026, his company paid a record ¥510.3 million, approximately $3.2 million, for a single 243kg fish. That beat his own 2019 record of ¥333.6 million. His explanation: “when I see a good looking tuna, I cannot resist.”
But his most interesting story isn’t about sushi. It’s about an innovative solution to Somali piracy.
Teach a man to fish…
During the 2000s and early 2010s, piracy off Somalia became a major international problem. Between 2005 and 2012, pirates hijacked 179 ships and collected between $339 million and $413 million in ransoms. An ordinary pirate could earn $30,000 to $75,000 from a single hijacking, while the financiers behind them took 30% to 75% of each ransom. At the 2011 peak there were 237 attacks, and piracy cost the world economy $6.6 billion to $6.9 billion that year.
Kimura recognised that some people involved had previously been fishermen. Civil war and the 2004 tsunami had wrecked the Somali coast, leaving them facing economic hardship and limited opportunities. He also noticed something nobody else had: “When I asked, no one had spoken to the pirates.”
Rather than focusing solely on punishment, he explored an alternative: helping local communities earn a living through legitimate fishing. As he put it: “You can’t wipe out pirates with missiles.” Scatter them, and without another way to earn a living they simply go back to piracy.
Through initiatives involving Djibouti and local fishing communities, his company did the following:
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Signed a fisheries agreement with the Somali government.
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Provided used fishing boats shipped from Japan.
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Offered training through local fishing co-operatives.
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Established arrangements to purchase catches.
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Helped connect the Somali government with the Indian Ocean Tuna Commission.
Before this, Somali fishermen had no processing facilities and could sell only about 1 tonne of fish a day. The aim was to create sustainable livelihoods and a viable alternative to piracy.
Kimura’s initiative took around 3 years to develop and, by his own account, was still not profitable in 2016. The company has never published how much it invested. In 2013, he received a medal from the government of Djibouti for his efforts.
Piracy subsequently declined, from 237 attacks in 2011 to 15 in 2013 and zero by 2015. International naval patrols, security measures and other factors claimed all the fame. Official reports credit warships and armed guards, and attacks were already falling before his work became visible. Kimura himself plays it down: “It’s not as grand a story as that.”
But Kimura played a role. Navies stopped the attacks; he worked on why they started. Japan’s own government warned in 2015 that the root causes remained. In December 2023, Somali pirates hijacked a merchant ship for the first time since 2017.
His approach demonstrates that the most effective way to tackle a problem is to create a better economic alternative. In 2011 alone, $1.3 billion went on military operations and $1.1 billion on armed guards and security equipment. Only $38 million went on prosecution, prisons and building local capacity.
Business as a force for good
Kimura’s work illustrates how commercial expertise can be applied to social challenges. His seafood business provided knowledge, equipment and access to buyers, helping support an alternative source of income. In his view, business isn’t only about short-term profit; responding to what people need is part of commerce too.
This is different from simply donating money. It aims to create opportunities that can continue generating value for the people involved. It is a wonderful example of the type of disruptive altruism Causevest loves.
Blockchain technology offers further opportunities to make social impact more transparent, traceable and participatory, connecting economic activity with causes that matter.
Recognising altruistic entrepreneurs
Kimura’s story is a reminder that altruism isn’t limited to traditional charities or philanthropists. Entrepreneurs can contribute by applying their skills, resources and commercial networks to problems that governments and charitable organisations struggle to solve.
That’s why we’re highlighting people like Kimura through Causevest’s Altruistic Entrepreneur award category, where he will be nominated for consideration.
Causevest: Disruptive Altruism On Chain.
Explore our mission at https://xcvesting.io/ and https://causevest.org/.
refrences
https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/gaiyou/jimu/pdf/siryou2/counter-piracy-key-points2015.pdf
https://www.cas.go.jp/jp/gaiyou/jimu/pdf/siryou2/counter-piracy2024.pdf