History
Oji Paper Company was founded February 12, 1873 by industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi as Shoshi Kaisha (抄紙会社?). Mills were established in 1875 in the village of Ōji, at the time a suburb of Tokyo, and in 1889 in Shizuoka. In 1893 Shibusawa renamed the company Oji Paper after the location of its first mill. William Anderson went to Japan to oversee the erection of the paper mill in 1871.
In 1933, Oji Paper merged with Fuji Paper and Karafuto Industries, developing into an oligopolistic corporation that produced 80 percent of Japan's Western-style paper.
Following World War II, in order to prevent anti-competitive activities caused by overconcentration, the Excess Economic Powers Decentralization Act was implemented, breaking up the company into three components: Tomakomai Paper, Jujo Paper, and Honshu Paper.
Tomakomai Paper began as a one-plant operation, but upon its expansion into Kasugai, Aichi in 1952, the company was renamed Oji Paper Industries, and in 1960, it was renamed Oji Paper again. Oji Paper expanded its business through acquiring competitors including Kita Nippon Paper, Nippon Pulp Industries, and Toyo Pulp.
In 1993, Oji Paper merged with Kanzaki Paper to become New Oji Paper, and furthermore, in 1996, New Oji Paper and Honshu Paper merged again to become Oji Paper.
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