Spiber collapse and restructuring
- The record does not name which of my species, waters, soils or forests were harmed.
A Japanese maker of fermentation-derived protein fibres, reported to have raised more than 100 billion yen, entered private restructuring in December 2025 after reporting 414 million yen of revenue for 2024. A state-backed fund that had invested about 14 billion yen exited in June 2026.
Revenue from Tokyo Shoko Research; capital from Business Insider Japan. Not an estimate.
Status As of August 2026: the business has been transferred to a new owner, shareholders approved the plan on 25 March 2026, and the Cool Japan Fund exited in June 2026; the former company is to enter private liquidation about two years after approval.
- Maya Kawana's company — Took over the business for about 5 billion yen plus about 10 billion yen of working capital. Business Insider Japan
- Cool Japan Fund — About 14 billion yen invested; accumulated loss of the fund 54 billion yen. Kyodo
- Lenders on the 35 billion yen loan — The loan fell due on 28 December 2025 and was not repaid. Business Insider Japan
What happened
Spiber is a Japanese company that makes protein fibres by microbial fermentation and was known for an artificial spider-silk material called QMONOS. According to Business Insider Japan, its total capital raised exceeded 100 billion yen.
According to Tokyo Shoko Research (TSR), Spiber's revenue was 414 million yen in 2024 and 177 million yen in 2025. Net loss was 29.5 billion yen in 2024 and 43.8 billion yen in 2025. At the end of 2025 equity was minus 28.1 billion yen and liabilities exceeded assets by about 30 billion yen. A United States plant investment in Iowa, with ADM, did not go as planned because of the pandemic, a weak yen and raw-material costs.
A loan of 35 billion yen fell due on 28 December 2025 and was not repaid. The company entered what the sources call a rule-based private restructuring. The business was transferred to a company of Maya Kawana for about 5 billion yen, plus about 10 billion yen of working capital. Shareholders approved the plan on 25 March 2026. The former company is to liquidate its assets and enter private liquidation about two years later.
The state-backed Cool Japan Fund had invested about 14 billion yen in Spiber. Kyodo reported on 24 June 2026 that the fund's accumulated loss had reached 54 billion yen. FashionSnap reported in August 2026 that the fund transferred all its Spiber shares to the founder in June 2026, with the price not disclosed. A question in the Japanese parliament in May 2026 about whether the 14 billion yen had been lost entirely did not receive a direct answer from the government.
- 2024Revenue 414 million yen; net loss 29.5 billion yen (TSR).
- 2025Revenue 177 million yen; net loss 43.8 billion yen; 35 billion yen loan due 28 December not repaid; private restructuring begins.
- 2026Shareholders approve the transfer plan (25 March); parliamentary question on the Cool Japan Fund investment (May); Cool Japan Fund transfers its shares to the founder (June); Kyodo reports the fund's accumulated loss at 54 billion yen (24 June).
What was said
Where accounts differ
Each party's account, side by side, with its source. The record does not settle these points; it shows them.
The fund's accumulated loss reached 54 billion yen; the fund had put about 14 billion yen into Spiber.
KyodoThe fund transferred all its Spiber shares to the founder in June 2026; the price was not disclosed.
FashionSnapDid not answer directly when asked in parliament in May 2026 whether the 14 billion yen had been lost entirely.
How it looked
Shown
- Said the company's strengths had been discussed mostly only in a sustainability context (paraphrase).Maya Kawana, whose company took over the business · FashionSnap
Recorded
- Revenue 414 million yen (2024) and 177 million yen (2025); net loss 29.5 billion yen and 43.8 billion yen; equity minus 28.1 billion yen at the end of 2025.
- 35 billion yen loan due 28 December 2025 unpaid; business transferred for about 5 billion yen plus about 10 billion yen working capital; shareholders approved on 25 March 2026.
- Cool Japan Fund: about 14 billion yen invested; accumulated loss 54 billion yen.
- Cool Japan Fund transferred all its shares to the founder in June 2026; price not disclosed.
Who gained
Reached nature or the ground
Gained elsewhere
Responses on record
- Maya Kawana (acquirer) (2025–2026): Said the company's strengths had been discussed mostly only in a sustainability context (paraphrase). · FashionSnap
In court and with insurers
Lawsuits and rulings
Insurers
What nature saw
Nature's report opens this page. Below: further outcomes measured on the ground.
What we don't know
Nature
- Not measured Harm to nature: The record holds no measurement of harm to nature.
Court
- None on record No court case on record.
Accounts
- Disputed Was the Cool Japan Fund's investment in Spiber lost?
- None on record Government of Japan: Did not answer directly when asked in parliament in May 2026 whether the 14 billion yen had been lost entirely.
Record
- Not disclosed Actual production tonnage, the amount spent on the United States plant, and the fate of employees: not disclosed in the sources reviewed.
- Not disclosed The price at which the Cool Japan Fund transferred its shares: not disclosed.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Spiber was founded in 2007 in Tsuruoka by Kazuhide Sekiyama; in 2013 it set up a pilot plant with Kojima Press with capacity of 100 kg a month.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: Spiber raised 25 billion yen in January 2021 and 34.4 billion yen in September 2021, the latter including Carlyle and the Cool Japan Fund.
- Insufficient Reported but not independently verified: a limited run of 50 'Moon Parka' garments with Goldwin went on sale in December 2019, marketed as 'Brewed Protein' rather than spider silk.
Did the harm stop?
Not applicable: the sources reviewed record a financial collapse, not environmental harm.
Who paid?
The Cool Japan Fund (state-backed) recorded an accumulated loss of 54 billion yen, and the lenders of a 35 billion yen loan were not repaid on its due date.
Sources
Company or project
- Moon Parka announcementGoldwin · 2019-12
Press and investigations
- Spiber financial results and restructuringTokyo Shoko Research ·
- Spiber private restructuringBusiness Insider Japan · 2026-03
- Cool Japan Fund loss and Spiber investment (via OANDA Japan)Kyodo · 2026-06-24
- Cool Japan Fund restructuringFashionSnap · 2026-08-20
- Spiber funding round, September 2021The Bridge · 2021-09