When Masataka Miyazono stepped down as president of one of the world’s biggest pension funds, past precedent suggested he would have a wide variety of financial firm jobs to choose from.

But his decision for the next stage of his career was an unusual one — the former leader of Japan’s Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF) will focus on agriculture, specifically advising on investments to a sector that’s seeing rapid aging and shrinking workforce.

Miyazono, 72, joined Hulic last year as an adviser, just as the developer plans ¥700 billion ($4.4 billion) in investments through 2029, seeking new revenue sources other than real estate. Agriculture is among those — it’s growing tomatoes and strawberries in Japan and chrysanthemum flowers in Vietnam. Hulic plans to provide financing for producers, and help elderly farmers find successors.

“Making Japan’s agriculture more productive is key for boosting Japan’s sustainability,” Miyazono said. “It’s hard for farmers to handle this on their own, and companies need to enter the picture.”

Japan’s rapidly shrinking and aging population is not only putting pressure on the nation’s finances, it’s also reducing the number of its food producers, raising concern that it will need to rely more on imports. The number of workers mainly involved in farming has plunged by half in the last two decades to about 1.1 million people in 2024, and their average age has climbed to 69.2, according to a farm ministry report.

Farming has always been close to Miyazono’s heart. He grew up in an agricultural area in Saga Prefecture and worked for decades at Norinchukin Bank, a lender that supports food producers. Miyazono has gone from leading GPIF, which manages almost $2 trillion in assets, to working in a team with just three staffers.

He won’t have an easy task. Japanese farms tend to be much smaller than their counterparts in North America and Europe, and are often family-run. That means there’s little economy of scale, and a listed company would need to justify to shareholders why it’s investing in this sector, Miyazono said.

The former GPIF chief reckons that aiding the sector will lead to an increase in financial value over time. It’s similar to investments made in sustainability projects that Miyazono led at the pension fund, with environmental, social and governance guidelines in place aimed at bolstering investment returns in the long run, he said.

Supporting farmers “is something I’ve long wanted to do,” Miyazono said. “I feel the adrenaline a bit.”