Royal HD, Choushimaru, and Sojitz Partner for Opening of Specialty Sushi Restaurant SUSHI NIGIRIBA in U.S. - Creating New Value in the U.S. Restaurant Industry -

Royal Holdings Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Fukuoka-shi, Fukuoka; Representative Director: Masataka Abe; “Royal HD”), Choushimaru Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Chiba-shi, Chiba; Representative Director: Ken Ishii; “Choushimaru”), and Sojitz Corporation (Head Office: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kosuke Uemura; “Sojitz”) partnered together to establish SUSHI-TEN USA Inc. back in March 2024, and SUSHI-TEN has now announced the U.S. opening of the first SUSHI NIGIRIBA restaurant on December 30 2025 in Huntington Beach, California. In January 2026, a second location of SUSHI NIGIRIBA is scheduled to open in Culver City, California.

Against the backdrop of fast-growing overseas markets, business expansion into growth markets overseas has become increasingly important, particularly for the restaurant industry. Royal HD, Choushimaru, and Sojitz established SUSHI-TEN USA Inc. as a joint venture in March 2024 to develop business operations on the West Coast of the U.S. Each of the companies engaged in this joint venture has strengths in their respective fields. Royal HD has many years of experience and know-how operating Royal Host and other restaurant chains in Japan, Choushimaru has originality and expertise in sushi as a gourmet sushi chain in Japan, and Sojitz has global business networks and business development capabilities in Japan and abroad. Together, the companies aim to create new value in the U.S. that they could not achieve individually.

The U.S. is an attractive market for restaurant business operators based on the market’s scale, diverse food culture, and high demand for Japanese foods. While high-end sushi restaurants previously set the trends in the U.S. sushi market, sushi has become localized and more casual in recent years as demand continues to increase each year. A steady upward trend can be seen in terms of Japanese restaurants in the U.S., particularly in major cities across California, which boasts the highest number of Japanese restaurants in the U.S. The West Coast has a long history of Japanese immigration and a richly diverse Japanese restaurant culture, which has ignited the Japanese food trend in the U.S., including the sushi boom. SUSHI-TEN aims to capture the needs of the U.S. market with the opening of two SUSHI NIGIRIBA restaurants in California as part of a new line of business centered on Japanese sushi. The first location of SUSHI NIGIRIBA will open in Huntington Beach followed by a second in Culver City.

■Business Concept
SUSHI NIGIRIBA is a sushi restaurant where tradition meets innovation. Sushi rice is made using traditional Japanese red vinegar, and each nigiri sushi is expertly hand-pressed and brushed with nikiri soy sauce. Take a seat at SUSHI NIGIRIBA’s authentic Japanese counter-only restaurant to enjoy simple, high-quality sushi at reasonable prices.

1st Location

2nd Location

[Related Information]
About Royal Holdings Co., Ltd.
Royal Holdings Co., Ltd.’s management vision is “bringing joy to communities and society through food and hospitality” through operation of four business segments: chain restaurants business such as Royal Host and TENYA in addition to managing specialty restaurant stores; contract businesses for in-house catering facilities and restaurants of airport terminal buildings and highway service areas; hotel business management including the Richmond Hotel; and food service businesses that include Royal Deli and other food infrastructure functions such as manufacturing, sales, and logistics.

About Choushimaru Co., Ltd.
Choushimaru is in the category of gourmet conveyer belt sushi restaurants, which is different from single-price conveyer belt sushi chains. Choushimaru offers authentic Edomae sushi prepared in front of customers using seasonal ingredients sourced from Toyosu Market and other leading landing markets in Japan. Choushimaru operates 92 stores under four different gourmet sushi restaurant chains in Japan including Sushi Choushimaru, Edomae-Sushi Hyakumangoku, Sushi Choushimaru Miyabi, and Sushi Yasuke.

About Sojitz Corporation
Sojitz Corporation was formed out the union of Nichimen Corporation and Nissho Iwai Corporation, both companies that boast incredibly long histories. For more than 160 years, our business has helped support the development of countless countries and regions. Today, the Sojitz Group consists of approximately 500 subsidiaries and affiliates located in Japan and throughout the world, developing wide-ranging general trading company operations in a multitude of countries and regions.