Toyo Gosei Co. Ltd. (TYO:4970) is planning a series of upgrades to its production capacity for photosensitive materials, which serve as the main raw materials in photoresists. By spring 2019,...
Industry
Oman Solidifies Plans for 1.6M-Ton Ethylene Project
Oman’s integrated oil refinery and petrochemical project is rounding into shape. State-owned Oman Oil Co. SAOC (OOC) is looking at the construction of a petrochemical complex centered on a mixed-feed...
Sumitomo Plans Global HQ for Cosmetics Business
Sumitomo Corp. (TYO:8053) is looking to integrate its worldwide operations for cosmetics. The company’s plan here calls for the establishment of a global headquarters within the next one to two...
METI Sets out on AI Training Initiative With Use of Patents, Scientific Papers
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is setting out to develop technology able to parse patents and scientific articles, converting these into a form that AI can use...
Kuraray Targets Major Sales Growth for Isoprene Business via New Thai JV
Speaking at a press conference on Sept. 11, Kuraray Co. Ltd. (TYO:3405) President Masaaki Ito commented on his company’s progress toward a new joint venture in Thailand. Set to be...
Nissan Chemical Enables Mass Cell Culture With New Substrate
Nissan Chemical Corp. (TYO:4021) has developed FCeM Cellhesion, a cell culture substrate allowing for the mass culture of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for use in cell therapy. The substrate also...
JGC to Get Under Way on Consulting Service for LNG Plant Operations
JGC Corp. (TYO:1963) is planning to roll out consulting services for improving the maintenance and production efficiency of liquefied natural gas (LNG) plants. Having last month reached an agreement with...
Kyokuto Looks to Produce Animal Serum Culture Media for Regenerative Medicine
Kyokuto Pharmaceutical Industrial Co. Ltd. is looking to turn products for the regenerative medicine sector into a new pillar of business. The company, which manufactures and sells the likes of...
METI Promotes Shift to Continuous-Flow Production for Functional Chemicals
The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) is promoting a shift from batch production to continuous-flow production for functional chemicals such as pharmaceutical and agricultural intermediates. METI’s efforts here...
Japan’s Chemical Industry Launches New Council to Address Ocean Plastic Waste
Five organizations in the Japanese chemical industry established a new council on Sept. 7 to address the problem of ocean plastics. The move will see the country’s chemical industry start...
Sakata Inx to Accelerate Global Rollout of Biomass Products
Sakata Inx Corp. (TYO:4633) is taking measures to accelerate its global rollout of biomass ink. Biomass ink containing a certain amount of plant-derived materials is booming in Japan, due in...
Mitsubishi Chemical Eyes Overseas Expansion for Carbon Business
Mitsubishi Chemical Corp. is moving forward with plans to expand its carbon-related operations overseas. The company’s work in the sector sees it produce tar as a by-product from coke oven...
US–China Trade War Brings Concern to Broader Asian Market
A second round of sanctions and retaliatory tariffs in the U.S.–China trade war took effect on Aug. 23. Each side has placed an additional 25 percent in tariffs on $16...
Taiwan’s Chang Chun Group Looks at Low-Cost VAM Production in US
Taiwan’s Chang Chun Group is looking into building a vinyl acetate chain in the U.S., eyeing the possibility of a new vinyl acetate monomer (VAM) plant with 420,000 tons in...
DuPont Opens Japanese Base to Develop Food Ingredients for Seniors
DuPont Nutrition & Health, a division of E.I. du Pont de Nemours and Co., recently established its Innovation & Application Center in Kanagawa Science Park. The company is now working...
Toyo Ink Goes All in on Medium-Term Management Plan Targets
Toyo Ink SC Holdings Co. Ltd. is going all out to achieve goals set under its medium-term management plan. The company is targeting 350 billion yen ($3.13 billion) in sales...
Teijin Eyes China After Achieving Tier 1 Status in Europe, North America
Teijin Ltd. (TYO:3401) has achieved Tier 1 status in the European and North American markets with the acquisition of two Tier 1 suppliers: U.S.-based Continental Structural Plastics Inc. (CSP) and...
Meiji Seika Pharma Looks to Double Production Capacity for Injectable Antibacterials
Meiji Seika Pharma Co. Ltd. is gearing up to strengthen its production capacity for injection-administered antibacterial drugs. Holding the top share of Japan’s antibacterial market, and continuing to operate at...
Mitsui Chemicals Plans 20B Yen of Investments to Boost Production in Mobility Business
Mitsui Chemicals Inc. (TYO:4183) announced on Aug. 24 that it plans to invest approximately 20 billion yen ($179.84 million) into raising its production capacity for two products used as automotive...
Chiyoda Readies to Take AI Support Services Into Full Gear for Plant Optimization
Chiyoda Corp. (TYO:6366) is planning to make a full deployment of its plant operations support services using AI and big data. Recent efforts here have seen the company reach an...
