Normally it is pop stars who boast of being "big in Japan" but some of Scotland's iconic Aberdeen Angus cattle could soon have a similar claim to fame.

Scottish farmers have started to cross the breed with Japanese Wagyu cattle, which provide beef that is said to be the most expensive in the world. Up to 700 Scots-Japanese calves are due next spring on dozens of farms in Caithness in the north-east Highlands, in one of the biggest cattle breeding initiatives in the UK. The Wagyu beef, prized for its deeply marbled appearance, will be exported to Japan because imports are cheaper than home-reared Wagyu. Wagyu in Japan are pampered with massages to help create the marbling, and beer or sake is added to their feeding regime.

A seven-ounce Wagyu steak sells in Tokyo restaurants for more than £95 and has become a regular fixture on menus at celebrity gatherings. Guy Ritchie included kosher Wagyu beef burgers on the menu, along with pink Krug champagne and caviare, for Madonna's 50th birthday party last summer. Businessman John Sutherland from Wick spotted the potential for breeding Scottish Wagyu after visiting a stud farm for the ancient Japanese breed in Australia.

Mr Sutherland, managing director of Caithness Beef and Lamb, said: "Aberdeen Angus used to be similar to Wagyu but the market changed, pushing farmers into producing redder and leaner beef.

"I imported 1,000 straws of Japanese Wagyu bull semen and we should see a 70 per cent success rate. I'm opening a new meat works later this month where the animals will be slaughtered and finished in the traditional Wagyu style when they are just over two years old."

Mr Sutherland also plans to produce Wagyu steaks, burgers and sausages for the UK market.