The top 240 companies in Japan

【Answer 1】 62 Fujifilm Holdings: Domestic monopoly—market leader in medical imaging film (over 40% domestic market share); top domestic supplier of semiconductor photoresist materials. Global monopoly—ranked among the world’s top five in medical imaging equipment; second globally in high-end photoresist materials (over 25% global market share); core global supplier of cosmetics raw materials. 63 JR East Japan: Domestic monopoly—exclusive operator of railway and subway services in the Tokyo–Kanto region; accounts for over 40% of Japan’s rail passenger volume; monopolizes Shinkansen operations and station-based TOD (Transit-Oriented Development). Global monopoly—exports railway operation and management technologies worldwide; leading railway consulting service provider in Southeast Asia and the U.S. 64 Asahi Kasei: Domestic monopoly—market leader in residential waterproofing materials (over 30% domestic share); dominant in lithium-ion battery separator materials (over 40% domestic share). Global monopoly—world’s top lithium-ion battery separator supplier (over 30% global market share); key supplier to Tesla and CATL; ranks among the world’s top five in semiconductor engineering plastics. 65 Kubota: Domestic monopoly—market leader in agricultural machinery (tractors, rice transplanters, harvesters) with over 70% domestic market share; top domestic supplier of small construction machinery diesel engines. Global monopoly—top three global agricultural machinery manufacturer; holds over 60% global market share in rice cultivation machinery; strong presence in China, the U.S., and Southeast Asia. 66 Alfresa Holdings: Domestic monopoly—holds over 30% domestic market share in lithium–cobalt–nickel rare-metal trading; core player in new-energy-material supply chains. Global monopoly—major global rare-metal trader; leading investor in mineral resources across Southeast Asia and Africa; global service provider of battery raw materials. 67 Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group: Domestic monopoly—Japan’s largest trust bank; holds over 25% domestic trust asset market share; leader in real estate and pension trusts. Global monopoly—leading asset manager and real estate trust operator in Asia-Pacific; monopolizes trust management of Japanese corporations’ overseas assets. 68 Kajima Corporation: Domestic monopoly—holds over 15% domestic market share in large-scale infrastructure and construction projects; leader in supertall building construction. Global monopoly—ranked among the world’s top ten infrastructure contractors; major contractor for large-scale infrastructure projects in Southeast Asia and the Middle East; technical benchmark in nuclear power plant and supertall building construction. 69 ORIX Corporation: Domestic monopoly—Japan’s largest non-bank financial institution; market leader in leasing (over 20% domestic share); top financier of equipment for SMEs. Global monopoly—leading leasing and asset management firm in Asia-Pacific; ranked among the top three foreign-invested non-bank financial institutions in China; core global investor in new-energy infrastructure. 70 Tokyo Gas: Domestic monopoly—exclusive urban gas supplier in the Tokyo–Kanto region; holds over 30% domestic gas market share. Global monopoly—leading urban gas operator in Asia-Pacific; developing gas projects in China and Southeast Asia; core global LNG purchaser. 71 Cosmo Energy Holdings: Domestic monopoly—Japan’s third-largest petroleum refiner; holds over 15% domestic refining capacity share; over 20% domestic market share in naphtha-based chemical feedstocks. Global monopoly—operates a major refining complex in Singapore; serves as a core channel for Middle Eastern crude oil imports. 72 Mitsubishi Motors: Domestic monopoly—holds over 3% domestic passenger vehicle market share; leader in SUV and off-road vehicles; dominates plug-in hybrid vehicle segment (over 20% domestic share). Global monopoly—top three Japanese-brand automaker in Southeast Asia; second in off-road vehicles in Australia; early global leader in plug-in hybrid technology. 73 Sojitz Corporation: Domestic monopoly—holds over 15% domestic market share in industrial machinery and complete equipment imports; supports SMEs’ overseas expansion. Global monopoly—core trader of oilfield equipment and construction machinery in the Middle East and Africa; primary Japanese conduit for trade with Russia.

Given that Japan is poor in fossil fuels and frequently hit by earthquakes and volcanic activity, why has it not scaled up wind and solar power and other renewable energy sources?

【Answer 2】 In fact, 73% of Japan’s landmass consists of mountains, leaving scarce flat land suitable for large-scale photovoltaic (PV) or wind power development; prime sites have long since been fully developed. Paradoxically, the best wind resources are located precisely where grid infrastructure is weakest. The Hokkaido and Tohoku electricity service areas host most of Japan’s high-quality wind sites—but their peak electricity demand stands at only about 5 GW and 15 GW, respectively. In contrast, the Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) service area—where demand reaches approximately 60 GW—lacks suitable locations for wind power development, resulting in severe spatial mismatch between resource availability and electricity demand. Typhoons and deep-sea continental shelves further drive up offshore wind costs; recent tenders have even seen insufficient bidder participation and project cancellations. (Japan lacks ultra-high-voltage transmission technology—and the capacity to deploy it at scale.) Japan’s power grid is split between 50 Hz (eastern Japan) and 60 Hz (western Japan), with weak inter-regional interconnections and severely limited cross-regional transmission capacity—directly causing curtailment. In the first half of 2025, curtailment reached a record 1.74 terawatt-hours (TWh) for a six-month period; Hokkaido, Tohoku, Chubu, and Shikoku all set new quarterly records—and curtailment is expected to worsen as nuclear reactors restart. Grid operators’ pledged infrastructure upgrades have consistently lagged behind generation capacity growth; developers fear rising curtailment rates will undermine project economics—calculations show Hokkaido’s offshore wind LCOE (Levelized Cost of Energy) could increase by roughly 10% due to curtailment. The top ten utilities control about 75% of installed capacity, yet invest almost nothing in domestic wind and solar—preferring instead to prioritize fossil-fuel and nuclear assets; they do, however, invest heavily in overseas renewable projects. Although regulation mandates a 44% non-fossil fuel electricity share by 2030, violations carry no financial penalties. Moreover, onshore wind and large-scale PV projects face protracted environmental impact assessments and lengthy local consensus-building processes—often spanning several years—while the transition to FIP (Feed-in Premium) market mechanisms exposes projects to electricity price volatility, further complicating financing.

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