In December 2022, Japan Rubber Weekly conducted a survey of the rubber and plastic products manufacturing industry regarding business conditions and outlook in fiscal 2023. According to the survey results, business confidence is on a recovery trend and is expected to remain so in the future. Although sales are increasing due to demand recovery, ordinary income is not growing as...
Industry
JRMA Sees Japanese New Rubber Consumption up 3.8% in 2023
The Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) has released its estimate for new rubber consumption in 2022 and its forecast for 2023. According to the report, in 2022, both Japanese domestic shipments and exports of mainstay automotive tires exceeded the previous year’s levels on a unit basis, but on a rubber volume basis, they were slightly below the previous year’s levels....
Toyoda Gosei and Asics Launch Sustainable Sneakers
Toyoda Gosei, a member of the Toyota Group, and Asics, a major sports equipment manufacturer, have launched a line of sustainable sneakers using scrap materials from airbag fabrics, which will be available from Jan. 26 at Asics’s online store and other retailers. Toyoda Gosei has been transforming difficult-to-recycle scraps of airbag fabric and genuine leather handlebars into bags, pen cases,...
Michelin Japan and Yamato Transport Launch Joint Logistics Project
Michelin Japan and Yamato Transport on Jn 10. started full-scale operation of a joint logistics reform project. The two companies signed a lead logistics partnership agreement on Sept. 14, 2022 to rebuild a smooth and robust logistics system for Michelin in Japan. The agreement had been partially operational since that day, but became fully operational now with the first shipment...
Joint Project Including Tosoh Plants Fast-Growing Trees in Shunan, Yamaguchi
The city of Shunan in Japan’s Yamaguchi prefecture has joined forces with Idemitsu Kosan, Tosoh, Tokuyama and Marubeni to plant a range of fast-growing tree species in Mukaidake, part of Shunan’s Heta district. This comes as part of a broader effort to trial the renewable production of woody biomass in the area, and follows an afforestation agreement that was reached...
New Year’s Interview: JRMA Chairman Takashi Shimizu on Japan’s Rubber Industry in 2023
Japan Rubber Weekly recently sat down for a New Year’s interview with Takashi Shimizu, president of Toyo Tires, who took office as chairman of the Japan Rubber Manufacturers Association (JRMA) in May 2022. With regard to the JRMA, a nationwide, all-product association of the rubber products manufacturing industry with more than 90 members ranging from large companies to small and...
