Companies
Shin-Etsu Chemical: The Quiet Colossus of Materials
Japan's most valuable chemical company is the world's number one in both silicon wafers and PVC — two foundations of the modern economy
Companies
Japan's most valuable chemical company is the world's number one in both silicon wafers and PVC — two foundations of the modern economy
From concert grand pianos to beginner flutes — and roughly half the world's digital instruments — Yamaha is the global number one
The world leader in EVOH barrier resin and PVA — a hidden champion of the specialty chemistry inside everyday packaging
A diversified Japanese group spanning battery separators, housing, and medicine — and home to the Nobel-winning inventor of the lithium-ion battery
The Kyoto instrument maker whose chromatographs and mass spectrometers are lab standards worldwide — and produced a Nobel laureate
The global leader in automotive lighting — its headlamps shine from the front of Toyotas, Hondas, and Nissans worldwide
A century-old firm that began as a power company now makes the high-end substrates Nvidia and Intel chips depend on
How a private, family-owned company in rural Tokushima invented the blue LED and became the world's largest LED maker
The maker of about 60% of the world's miniature ball bearings — ultra-precision at massive scale, now a components conglomerate
The Japanese leader that both runs the world's factories and makes the world's number-one home blood-pressure monitors
Through its ATL subsidiary, TDK makes the lithium-ion battery inside a huge share of the world's smartphones — and is a top-three maker of ceramic capacitors
An 80% global grip on automotive emissions analyzers — and a quiet expansion into chips, medicine, and EV testing