Japan: Roots and resilience

Evonik Country Asia

Reading Time 3 min

August 12, 2024

Japan is a highly developed industrial nation. But elements of the country’s rich cultural heritage are firmly anchored even in the midst of its bustling major cities. Whether it’s comics, cuisine or stagecraft, this island nation on the rim of the Pacific Ocean knows how to integrate tradition into modern life

By Pauline Brenke

The pagoda is on the right in the foreground, Mount Fuji rises on the left in the background. In front of it, pink blossoming cherry trees and the roofs of the city. — Mount Fuji rises majestically above the city of Fujiyoshida in Japan, forming a picturesque motif in combination with the five-story Chureito Pagoda and pink cherry blossoms. This volcano is a key element of Japanese culture and holds spiritual significance for many natives of Japan. With a height of 3,776 meters, Fuji is Japan’s tallest mountain. On clear days it can even be seen, at a distance of 200 kilometers, from Japan’s capital Tokyo.

A small boy lifts up a large plug for charging electric cars. — n Japan, the electrification of vehicles was for a long time practically synonymous with hybrid drive systems. But in the past few years the importance of purely battery-powered vehicles has increased considerably in Japan, and the construction of charging stations is subsidized by the government. Evonik would like to strengthen Asia’s growing market for new battery generations in electric vehicles. To this end, it is expanding a production plant for AEROXIDE®, an aluminum oxide that is used in lithium-ion batteries, in the city of Yokkaichi. This product makes it possible to extend the range of electric vehicles and provides greater safety as well as shorter charging times for the batteries.

Five people walk past large manga drawings on the wall of a house. — Girlish comic figures with huge eyes gaze down at the pedestrians strolling through the Akihabara district of Tokyo, which has developed into a hotspot for fans of anime and manga. Dozens of shops and cafés have specialized in the lively comics, animated films, and heroic figures of these genres. In the West, “manga” is an umbrella term for the typical style of Japanese comics, but in Japan itself the term usually refers to comics in general. The comics are typically drawn in black-and-white. Evonik supplies high-quality additives for printed products with high resolution and sharpness.

Actors with their faces painted white. — Painted faces, elaborate costumes, and exaggerated facial expressions and gestures—at a kabuki performance, the spectators are treated to an opulent show. Kabuki is a traditional type of theater whose roots go back to the 17th century. It has been on the UNESCO list of Intangible Cultural Heritage since 2005. The actors’ makeup, which is known as kumadori, plays a crucial role: The colors and lines provide information about a character’s gender, social status, and personality. Evonik produces specialty silicas for decorative cosmetics. Besides improving the structure and stability of cosmetics, these products also replace microplastics.

A man's hand holds a fine brush and paints carefully arranged pieces of fish with it. — Contrary to popular belief, sashimi is not sushi—it’s an independent dish. It usually consists of finely sliced fish filets that are served with soy sauce, wasabi, and small deco-rative side dishes. Unlike sushi, it is not eaten with rice! Top-quality fish is essential for good sashimi. In order to conserve wild fish stocks, which are a limited resource, Evonik has developed a sustainable technology that replaces animal-based ingredients in fish feed. The joint venture Veramaris produces omega-3 fatty acids using natural marine algae instead of fish oil or fish meal.

A man with a hat on his head stands in front of a completely painted and heavily modified artistically designed truck. — The word “dekotora” is a shortened form of “dekoreshon torakku”, or “decorated truck”. In Japan, trucks are beautified with textiles, painting, neon lights, and unusual extensions, from the driver’s cab to the body. The dekotora culture reached its high point in the 1980s and 1990s. Today only a few of these super-decorated trucks roll along Japan’s highways—partly because of stringent regulations governing decorations. However, dekotora are still inviting spectators to admire their mobile artworks at public events, usually for charitable causes. Evonik helps to make “green tires” for cars in order to save on fuel and increase safety thanks to shorter braking distances. It has recently become possible to use the combination of ULTRASIL® silica and special rubber silanes in the production of truck tires as well. ----------> Wada san and his truck “Uta Maru” in Aichi prefecture, Japan. This photograph comes from Julie Glassberg’s long term documentary project “Dekotora”. Julie started to document the Dekotora culture in 2015 as she was living in Japan for a year. In 2019 and 2023, she went back to Japan to prepare a book with the editions Patrick Frey

A drone shot of the area around the Wakato Bridge, which is illuminated in red. — The red Wakato Bridge, which is 627 meters long, connects the wards of Wakamatsu and Tobata on Kyushu, Japan’s third-largest island. Visitors to Kyushu like to bathe in its hot springs, climb its volcanoes, and eat the famous local specialty, tonkotsu ramen. Specialist circles call Kyushu “Silicon Island”. Its Kumamoto Prefecture in particular is an important location for semiconductor production in Japan, and new investments here are intended to revitalize the sector. Kyushu’s abundant water resources are a great advantage for the production of semiconductors. Evonik produces colloidal silicas as an abrasive for silicon wafers—an important step in the production of microchips.

In the midst of things

Greater Tokyo, which has more than 37 million inhabitants, is the biggest urban agglomeration in the world, as well as the economic, political, and cultural center of Japan. Evonik has been active here since 1969. Evonik’s headquarters in Japan are in the Shinjuku special ward, a renowned entertainment and shopping district. Eight other locations are distributed around the metropolitan area and further south on the island.

A map of Japan with marks for the Evonik sites.

Evonik in Japan

468 employees work at 9 locations.