S<s,!j\ ^^ J ' 
 
 / 
 
 PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY 
 
 Cf JAPAN 
 
 February 1947 
 
 r 
 
 LIZ : 
 
 US DEPOSITORY 
 
 No. R164C 
 
 UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE 
 FOREST SERVICE 
 FOREST PRODUCTS LABORATORY 
 Madison, Wisconsin 
 
 In Cooperation with the University of Wisconsin 
 
Summ ary 
 
 Wood pulp mi 11a in Japan Proper (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, Shikoku) at wars' 
 end numbered about 90, and machine-paper mills about 275. Most of the mills 
 are small and outmoded, with certain notable exceptions, Eight pulp mills ' 
 are classified as manufacturers of rayon pulp, and the remainder produce 
 j ulj of the f;roundwood, sulfite, kraf t , and soda types. Of about 500 paper 
 machines, about 100 are Fourdriniers of the ordinary type and the remainder 
 are cylinder or Yankee or modified types. The centuries-old hand-made paper 
 industry is not described in this report. 
 
 More than One-half of the total production of pulpwood and nearly one-half 
 of the wood pulp produced in Japan during the 10-year period up to 1945 was 
 concentrated in Xarafuto. The loss of this area, coupled with the loss of 
 imports of both pulpwood and wood pulp, considerably reduces the raw material 
 available to the paper industry and other users of pulp. 1!'ne l-^ss of these 
 facilities was especially severe with respect to chemical paper pulp of the 
 sulfite and kraft types. Sulfite pulp is the only chemical pulp formerly 
 made in large volume in Japan, but 6£ percent Of the 1930-1940 production 
 of this pulp was made in Karafuto. Nearly all of the kraft pulp was made 
 in Karafuto during the same period, but by 1945 a considerable portion of 
 the rated productive capacity for kraft was located in Japan Proper. Most 
 of the capacity for the production of rayon pulp and mechanical pulp was 
 located in Japan Proper. Soda pulp was produced in Japan Proper and Formosa. 
 Mills producing this pulp are numerous but small and inefficient. 
 
 Production of all types Of pulp in the peak year of 1941 was 1,408,000 short 
 tons, of which 77 percent wa3 paper pulp, and 23 percent was rayon pulp 
 grade. Production of all types of pulp in 1945 was only about 18 percent 
 of the 1941 production. The chief reasons for low production were shortages 
 of coal, chemicals, and wood. The production of paper and paperboard in 
 1941 was about 1,670,000 tons. 
 
 The rayon pulp industry displayed a singular growth ia recent prewar years, 
 and, in general, mills producing this pulp are among the most modern in 
 Japan. Domestic production of rayon pulp expanded from an estimated 4,000 
 tons in 1932 to more than 325,000 tons in 1941, but as production did not meet 
 demandc, Japan depended heavily on imjorts of this type of pulp. Production 
 of rayon pulp in 1945 was only 11,400 tons or about 5 percent of the rated 
 productive capacity of remaining rayon pulp mills. 
 
 rt NO. H1540 
 
PULP AND PAPER INDUSTRY OF JAPAN 
 
 By 
 
 ROBERT J. SEIDL,- Chemical Engineer 
 
 2 
 
 Forest Products Laboratory, - Forest Service 
 
 U. S. Department of Agriculture 
 
 The manufacture of pulp and paper in Japan originated over 1,000 years ago, 
 and for centuries "before paper was known to the Western world the highly 
 developed art of producing high-quality hand-made papers was practiced. To 
 present day Western peoples, the manufacture of pulp and paper "by hand 
 methods was and is nothing mere than a quaint household industry. The 
 development in the 80 's of methods of utilizing wood fiber for paper led to 
 the introduction of foreign-style paper to Japan and in turn to the develop- 
 ment of the domestic machine-paper industry of recent years. The advent 
 of the machine -paper industry came in 1872 with the formation of a joint 
 stock company, the Oji Seishi Kabushiki Kaisha (Oji Paper Manufacturing 
 Company) . This was the first company in Japan to produce European or 
 "foreign style" paper as distinguished from hand-made or "Japan paper," 
 The natives of Japan accepted the foreign style papers as supplemental to, 
 rather thaa a replacement for 5 the conventional hand papers, and the machine 
 industry enjoyed a moderate growth for a number of years. Commercial sig- 
 nificance on a world scale was attained for the first time under the impetus 
 of shortages caused by the World War of 1914, resulting in the development 
 of a domestic pulp and paper industry which in 1940 was the largest in the 
 Orient and which placed Japan among the leading pulp and paper producing 
 nations Of the world. 
 
 The proper use of wood resources in Japan is extremely important to the 
 existence of its population because of the high concentration of people 
 per unit area of its land and the great dependence on such forest products 
 as fuel, charcoal and lumber. Industries converting wood to pulp consume 
 much less wood than certain other wood-using industries such as lumber and 
 charcoal; the consumption of wood by pulp mills has not exceeded about 15 
 percent of the total wood consumption in any year. 
 
 -The material here reported was obtained by the author in 1946 on assign- 
 ment to the Natural Resources Section, General Headquarters, Supreme 
 Commander for the Allied Powers, Tokyo. Acknowledgement is made to Lt. 
 C01. W. E. Cohen, Australian Scientific Mission, and Lt, M. L. Markell.Jr., 
 U.S.A., for assistance in the preparation of this report. 
 
 2 
 
 -Maintained in cooperation with the University of Wisconsin, Madison, Wis. 
 
 Report No. R1640 -1- 
 
Early pulp mills were located chiefly on the island of Honshu, "but because 
 of the abundant supply of desirable coniferous woods in northern lands, 
 much of the new production capacity moved to Hokkaido and Karafuto. Owing 
 to the ever-increasing demands of the paper industry, a considerable portion 
 of pulp requirements was met by importation, but by expanding pulp producing 
 facilities Japan attained virtual self-sufficiency in paper pulp by 1938. 
 In the Thirties, the rayon industry emerged as another large consumer of 
 pulp and its needs were at first imported because Japan had neither the 
 capacity nor the industrial technique to produce quality rayon pulp. Soon 
 after 1933, the domestic production of rayon pulp was developed and exhibited 
 a phenomenal growth until 1941. The sulfite and groundwood pulp processes 
 were the first to be extensively used in Japan. Kraft pulp was originally 
 made in Karafuto, and the manufacture of kraft and soda pulps was not 
 developed in Japan Proper until about 1938. Soda pulp was produced in 
 numerous small and inefficient mills, which yielded an inferior and non- 
 uniform grade of pulp. As in the United States, straw is used chiefly 
 in making paper boards and is processed by cooking with lime. Although 
 some waste paper was de inked, it was usually converted into paper board 
 without special chemical treatment. In addition to wood fiber, otr.er fibers 
 used for special purposes include cotton, hemp, flax, rice, or wheat straw, 
 and the inner bark of branches of certain plants of the mulberry family. 
 These fibers are used in small quantities to prepare a large number of 
 special papers. 
 
 Wood 
 
 Of estimated forest resources of 67 billion cubic feet in Japan Proper 
 (Hokkaido, Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku) , about 19.2 billion cubic feet in 
 Old Japan (Honshu, Kyushu, and Shikoku), and about 8.5 billion cubic feet 
 in Hokkaido are composed of wood species commonly used for pulping. The 
 preferred species are the spruce and fir (yezomatsu and todocatsu) which 
 grow abundantly in Hokkaido, and the red and black pines (akamatsu and 
 kuromatsu) of Old Japaa. Other species used for pulping include beech and 
 hemlock. 
 
 The volume of wood consumed for pulp manufacture was approximately 120 
 million cubic feet annually for a 7-year period up to 1944. The consump- 
 tion of pulp wood by locality is shown in figure 1, More than one-half of 
 the total pulp wood used la Japan during the 10-year period up to 1945 was 
 concentrated in Karafuto. Not all of the wood was pulped in Karafuto, 
 and many mills on the other islands were dependent upon this peninsula for a 
 sourer, of high-quality pulp wood. The loss of Karafuto to the Russians, 
 coupled with the loss of imports of both pulp wood and wood pulp greatly 
 reduced the raw material available to the paper industry and other users of 
 pulp. A severe shortage of both pulp wood and wood pulp therefore resulted. 
 
 Report Ho. P.1640 -2- 
 
Attempts are "being made to make up present pulp wood deficiencies through 
 the use of sawmill wastes. In some cases, pulp mill operations have been 
 integrated with sawmill operations to use slabs and edgings from lumber 
 manufacture for pulping. Special small chippers with adapters to fit 
 small miscellaneous material are sometimes used to reduce this wood to 
 chip form. The bark of pulp wood is removed chiefly by hand, although the 
 larger mills have drum-barking equipment. The logs are slashed after peel- 
 ing and the largest sometimes reduced in size by a splitting device. 
 
 Present requirements for pulp wood to supply remaining pulp mills are affected 
 by factors other than rated capacity, such as the ability of mills to con- 
 sume wood despite present shortages of coal, chemicals and other necessities. 
 Future needs therefore are best considered in terms of past production and 
 modified according to current shortages. From the standpoint of remaining 
 pulp productive capacity, although a maximum output of nearly 900,000 short 
 tons was attained in Japan Proper in 1941, an estimated production of 600,000 
 tons, which approximates a past 7-year average, appears to be the maximum 
 reasonable posoibiliuy after bomb damage is repaired, assuming adequate 
 supplies of coal, wood and chemicals to be available. In addition, wood 
 requirements are, of course, dependent on the proportions of the various 
 pulps made. On the basis of rated pulp mill capacity, the percentage 
 capacity for each type of pulp has been estimated and if conversion factors 
 for the calculation of wood volume per ton of pulp are applied to the 
 assumed maximum production, the wood requirements would be over 70 million 
 cubic feet annually. It should be emphasized that this estimate is given 
 as a sample condition and that because of various shortages and altered 
 emphasis on certain products the actual production is not likely to coincide 
 with the indicated rated capacity of mills. Production of pulp wood has 
 been hindered by reluctance on the part of pulp mill operators to use less 
 desirable wood species ouch a.i the hardwoods in mixture with long-fibered 
 coniferous woods. A notable exception to this has been in the production of 
 rayon pulp; for this product, beech in some proportion is considered advan- 
 tageous. Technical advances for increasing the yield of pulp per unit 
 volume of wood also appeared to be lacking. 
 
 Pulp 
 
 The yearly average volume of wood pulp available (production plus imports) 
 for consumption by the paper, rayon yarn, staple fiber, and other chemical 
 industries of Japan for the years 1935 to 1942 was approximately 1,350,000 
 short tons. About 250,000 tons of this amount were obtained by importation. 
 Nearly 45 percent of the average domestic production and about 36 percent 
 of the total pulp available for thin 7-year period had Karafuto as its 
 source ; small amounts were produced in Korea and Formosa. The production 
 of all types of wood pulp and the magnitude of imports are illustrated in 
 figure 2. Although the over-all dependency on importation has not averaged 
 over 21 percent of the total for the years 1930 to 1940, an individual 
 consideration of paper pulp and rayon pulp reveals the past dependency on 
 imports of rayon pulp and the near self-sufficiency in paper pulp. This 
 is illustrated in figures 3 and 4. Production of wood pulp in Japan by 
 locality is given in figure 5. 
 
 Report No. R1640 -3- 
 
The loss of Karafuto is greater from a consideration of pulp types than 
 is indicated from theover-all loss of tonnage because production in 
 Karafuto was mostly of the important chemical pulps, notably sulfite and 
 kraft. This is typified by a breakdown of pulp production by types for 
 Japan Proper, Karafuto, Korea, and Formosa for the year 1941 given in 
 figure 6. The rise and decline of production of chemical paper pulp, 
 mechanical pulp, and rayon pulp since 1930 are shown in figure 7. In the 
 peak production year of 1941, a total of 1,407,993 short tons consisted of 
 619,132 tons of chemical paper pulp, 462,402 tons of mechanical pulp, and 
 326,459 ton3 of rayon pulp. Total pulp production for 1945 was only 
 255,657 tons, or about 18 percent of the 1941 production and about 25 per- 
 cent of the rated production capacity of remaining mills. Principal reasons 
 for low production are shortages of coal, chemicals, and wood, and to a 
 lesser degree, bomb damage. Data on the production of pulp by types for 
 1945 and the rated productive capacities are given in the accompanying 
 tabulation. 
 
 
 : Rated productive 
 
 1945 
 
 Type of 
 
 : capacity (Jan. 1946) 
 
 : production 
 
 pulp 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 ! Percent 
 
 
 
 Percent of 
 
 
 : of total 
 
 Short tons 
 
 Short tons 
 
 capacity 
 
 Mechanical 
 
 52 
 
 499,900 
 
 125,907 
 
 25 
 
 Sulfite 
 
 15 
 
 145,760 
 
 101,348 
 
 : 70 
 
 Rayon 
 
 i 24 
 
 230,600 
 
 : 11,422 
 
 5 
 
 Kraft 
 
 5 
 
 53,200 
 
 : 15,225 : 
 
 29 
 
 Soda 
 
 4 
 
 40,000^ 
 
 1,755 
 
 4 
 
 TOTAL 
 
 100 
 
 1 
 
 969,460 
 t 
 
 255,657 
 
 
 ^Estimate. 
 
 Source: Gji Paper Mfg. Co. Ltd. 
 
 The equipment capacities given apcear to be somewhat in excess of that 
 substantiated by pre-war records of the mills in Japan Proper. 
 
 Because of the numerous fibrous raw materials used in the production of 
 paper and paper board, no simple factor is available for use in calculating 
 the wood pulp requirements for total paper production. As an illustration, 
 however, the fibrous materials consumed by the Japanese paper industry and 
 the resultant paper products for 1941 might be considered. In that year, 
 1,211,321 short tons of wood pulp were used in the production of 1,668,765 
 tons of paper and paper board, which is a proportion of about 0,73 tons of 
 wood pulp per ton of paper and paper board. On this basis, assuming a per 
 capita consumption of paper at the approximate recent pre-war level of 
 about 30 pounds per annum, and assuming a population i» Japan of 80 million, 
 
 Report No. 1:1640 
 
 -4- 
 
wood pulp requirements of the paper industry would be nearly 880,000 
 short tons per year. Requirements for rayon pulp for the production of 
 rayon are about 1.17 short tons of pulp per ton of viscose rayon, and 
 about 1.40 tons of pulp per ton of cupra-ammoniura rayon ("Bemberg silk"). 
 
 A location map of pulp mills, including a classification according to 
 approximate productive capacity, is given in figure 8. In summary, these 
 data show that of 93 pulp mills, eight have a capacity of over 30,000 
 short tons per year; 15 mills have a capacity of 10,000 to 30,000 tons; 
 30 mills, of 1,000 to 10,000 tons, and 40 mills produce less than 1,000 
 short tons per year. About 40 percent of the total capacity is concentrated 
 in five mills in Hokkaido. 
 
 A. Mechanical Pulp 
 
 Over one-half of the remaining pulp capacity is for the production of 
 mechanical pulp. Mechanical pulp, in admixture with unbleached sulfite, 
 is widely used in Japan for papers where permanence is not required, such 
 as newsprint , school books, printing, and a variety of wrapping papers, 
 Wood requirements for the manufacture of groundwood are more exacting than 
 for some chemical processes, and the species which are most suitable for 
 grinding are the spruce and fir (yezomatsu and todomatsu) of Hokkaido. In 
 the central and southern regions where spruce and fir are not available 
 red and black pines (akamatsu ojad kuromatsu) are used. Pulps produced 
 by the grinding of pine are lower in strength, darker in color, and 
 generally require longer drainage time for water removal in the manufacture 
 of paper. The latter fact has resulted in an appreciable decrease in 
 paper machine operating speeds, particularly in the high-speed machinery 
 generally employed in newsprint manufacture. Little or no hardwood is 
 used in the production of groundv/ood. It is expected that experiments on 
 the production of hardwood groundv/ood will be stimulated by severe shortages 
 of the more desirable species. The use of groundwood in paper in as large 
 a proportion as possible is to be encouraged in Japan where wood economy 
 is of prime importance and power is reasonably abundant. The production 
 of mechanical pulp in Japan for 1930 to 1945 is shown in figure 9. Average 
 annual production for 1930 to 1940 was about 360,000 tons, representing 
 about 44 percent of the total production of all types of pulp made during 
 this period. A peak production of 462,420 was reached in 1941. Nearly 
 8S percent of the groundwood production of recent prewar years was centered 
 in Japan Froper. Since the loss of pulp sources in Karafuto was confined 
 largely to chemical pulps, the result has been a substantial increase in 
 the position of groundwood pulp in comparison with other pulp types. The 
 proportion of groundwood to chemical pulp may be considered as an over -all 
 evaluation of the quality of papers produced, and the increased proportion 
 of groundwood capacity is likely to be reflected in the production of 
 inferior papers. Thirty-five mills are classified as producers of ground- 
 wood pulp. The total rated capacity of these mills, disregarding bomb 
 damage, is estimated to be about 500,000 short tons per annum. By far 
 the largest mill is the Tomakomai plant of the Oji Paper Manufacturing 
 Company, Ltd.; this mill has a rated capacity of 191,000 short tons of 
 
 Report No. R1640 -5- 
 
groundwood per annum. Two milla have a capacity of more than 30,000 tons 
 per annum, 9 millt from 10,000 to 30,000 tons per annua, and 24 mills fewer 
 than 10,000 tons per annum. 
 
 B. Sulfite Pu lp 
 
 Sulfite pulp ia the only chemical pulp produced in large volume for use 
 in J in Japan, and it i3 in great demand by the paper industry. It is 
 
 an important total or partial constituent of such papers as newsprint, 
 printing, bond, document, blueprint, wrapper, rind paper bag. 3efore the 
 war much sulfite pulp was bleached and used in high-quality papers, but, 
 because of the lack of bleaching powder caused by the shortage of salt, 
 the production of bleached sulfite at this time is very small. 
 
 Spruce end fir (yezomatou and todomatsu) are considered superior for sul- 
 fide pulping, ?ecause of the availability of these woods and of the raw 
 materials, lime and sulfur, large sulfite pulping facilities were developed 
 in Karafiito an: Hokkaido. Sulfite pulp is also produced from red and black 
 pines (akamatsu and kuromat3u) of Honshu and Kyushu, although the sulfite 
 process is not generally considered to be well suited for pulping pine 
 wood. In order to cook pine successfully in Japan and to minimize diffi- 
 culties caused by resin in the wood, drastic cooking conditions are used. 
 The pulp obtained is inferior in strength and brightness to that obtained 
 from spruce, and the yield of pulp per unit of wood is lower. 
 
 The average production of sulfite paper pulp from 1930 to 1940 was about 
 390,000 short tens. This represents about 43 percent of the total paper 
 pulp for the same period, Much of the prewar production of sulfite pulp 
 was concentrated in five mills of the Cji Paper Manufacturing Company in 
 Karafuto, The dependency upon Karafuto for this type of pulp is shown in 
 figure 10. Over 6b percent of the total domestic production of sulfite 
 pulp during 1930 to 1940 was centered in Karafuto; about 5 percent was 
 produced in Korea. The total rated capacity of remaining mills, disregard- 
 ing bomb damage, is 145,760 short tons per annum. It i6 evident that the 
 loss of Karafuto as a source of pulp is particularly severe to consumers 
 of sulfite paper pulp in Japan, 
 
 "ine pulp mills are classified as producers of sulfite paper pulp, but a 
 certain amount of this type of pulp is also supplied by rayon pulp mills. 
 The largest mill (Tomakomai, Hokkaido) nas a sulfite capacity of 45,360 
 short tons a year. Four mills have a capacity of from 10,000 to 30,000 
 tons per annum, and four mills are rated at less than 10,000 short tons per 
 annum. IV.ree mills are situated in Hokkaido, three in Honshu, and three 
 in Kyushu. 
 
 C. Hay on lulp 
 
 '.'ood is the chief source of cellulose for the rayon industry in Japan. 
 Nearly all rayon pulp is produced by the sulfite process with certain modi- 
 fications in the process as it is used to produce paper pulp. Purification 
 
 Report Ho. R1640 -6- 
 
treatments to increase the alpha-cellulose content of sulfite pulp to the 
 approximate 88 percent required for viscose rayon manufacture include 
 chlorination, alkali treatment, and bleaching. 
 
 The rapid growth of the rayon industry of Japan in the years preceding 
 the war resulted in a heavy demand for rayon pulp. Although the production 
 of rayon pulp was expanded at a much greater rate than that of any other 
 type of pulp, domestic production did not keep pace with demand, and Japan 
 depended heavily on imports of this product. The growth of domestic produc- 
 tion and the amount of pulp obtained by importation are shown graphically 
 in figure 4. Data on production by locality are given in figure 11. 
 Domestic production reached a peak in 1941 with the manufacture of 325,000 
 short tons, and imports of rayon pulp reached a high of 325,000 tons in 1937. 
 
 Consumption of cellulose by the rayon yarn and staple fiber industries of 
 Japan, which in 1930 was less than 30,000 short tons, increased to a peak 
 of nearly 400,000 tons in 1937. Although consumption of domestic pulp 
 increased considerably each year through 1941, the dominant source was by 
 importation until about 1938, after which consumption of domestic pulp 
 exceeded that obtained by importation. Stimulus to the development of 
 facilities for domestic production arose from the inability of the Japanese 
 to obtain sufficient quantities of rayon pulp by importation in the years 
 immediately preceding 1941. Nearly all of the rayon pulp consumed after 
 1941 was produced in Japan. Small amounts of cotton were consumed by the 
 rayon industry, but consumption did not exceed 7 percent of the total 
 cellulose used in any year. Cotton, because of its high alpha-cellulosic 
 content, was considered especially desirable in the manufacture of cupra- 
 ammonium rayon, or "Bemberg silk," which is produced by one factory in 
 Kyushu, For the same reason, cotton linters or cotton rags were also used 
 in the manufacture of cellulosic derivatives, such as cellulose nitrate 
 plastics, explosives, lacquer, coatings, films, artificial leather, rocket 
 propellants, and dynamite. The technique in some cases was to produce a 
 tissue paper from alpha-cellulose pulp and cut this paper into pieces of 
 equal size to promote uniform nitration. Wartime effort on the part of 
 the Japanese resulted in the development of techniques of purification of 
 wood pulp to a degree considered suitable for cupra-ammonium rayon, plastics, 
 and explosives, although perhaps inferior to cotton cellulose at the present 
 stage of development. 
 
 The wood species used for the production of rayon pulp usually depends on 
 the locality of the mill, although in past years considerable quantities 
 of wood for pulping were shipped from Karafuto to mills on Honshu and 
 Kyushu. Spruce and fir (yezomatsu and todomatsu) are the chief species 
 used in Hokkaido, and mills in Honshu and Kyushu use chiefly red pine, 
 (akamatsu), black pine (kuromatsu), and beech (buna). Although little or 
 no hardwood is used in the production of paper pulp in Japan, the use of 
 up to 40 percent beech is considered desirable in the manufacture of rayon 
 pulp by certain mills. Rayon pulp produced in Japan was generally con- 
 sidered inferior and of less uniform quality than pulps obtained by importa- 
 tion. During prewar years, imported pulp was usually employed to produce 
 high-grade rayon for the export market, while the domestic production was 
 used to supply Japan's home needs for rayon yarn and staple fiber. 
 
 Report No. R1640 -7- 
 
Domestic production of rayon pulp in Japan began in Karafuto as recently 
 as 1932. Small amounts of pulp were obtained from Korea after 1936, "but 
 production in Japan Proper did not begin until about 1938. In 1941 
 Karafuto and Korea contributed less than one-third of the total. The ex- 
 tremely rapid growth of this industry in Japan Proper is thus illustrated. 
 From a consideration of the strong situation of rayon pulp facilities in 
 Japan Proper, the present reduced capacity of the rayon industry, and the 
 shortage of caustic soda for rayon manufacture, the remaining equipment 
 capacity for rayon pulp manufacture appears to be in excess of the capacity 
 of rayon plants to consume pulp. Assuming no imports of wood pulp, rayon 
 pulp mills may be in a position to furnish the pulp requirements of the 
 rayon industry and in addition to supply a certain tonnage of bleached or 
 unbleached sulfite pulp to the paper industry. 
 
 Pulp mills producing rayon pulp are in general among the largest and most 
 modern in Japan. The eight pulp mills in Japan Proper listed below are 
 classified as producers of rayon pulp. 
 
 District or : 
 prefacture : 
 
 Company ; 
 
 Mill j 
 
 Kated annual 
 
 capacity 
 
 short tons 
 
 Hokkaido ! 
 
 Kokusaku Pulp 
 Industrial Co. Ltd. 
 
 ' Asahikawa 
 
 t 61,600 
 
 Yamaguchl : 
 
 Sanyo Rayon 
 
 Pulp Co. Ltd. j 
 
 : Iwakuni 
 
 34,520 
 
 Akita : 
 
 Tohoku Shinko 
 : Pulp Co. Ltd. ! 
 
 Akita ! 
 
 26,000 
 
 Miyagi 
 
 Tohoku Shinko 
 
 Pulp Co. Ltd. i 
 
 Ishinomaki 
 
 28,000 
 
 Toyama 
 
 : Kokoku P.ayon 
 Pulp Co. Ltd. 
 
 Toyama 
 
 26,880 
 
 Miyazaki 
 
 ! Japan Pulp 
 
 • Industrial Co. Ltd. 
 
 - Obi 
 
 22,400 
 
 Niigata 
 
 : Hokuetsu laper 
 : Mfg. Co. Ltd. 
 
 : Niigata 
 
 : 20,160 
 
 Aichi 
 
 : Toyo Spinning Co. Ltd. 
 
 1 Inuyama 
 
 : 8,960 
 
 Total = 230,520 
 
 Report No. R1640 
 
 -8- 
 
Aggregate equipment capacity after reconversion or repair of bomb damage 
 is about 230,000 tons per year and this total was nearly achieved "by these 
 mills in 1941. Production for 1945 in Japan Proper was only 10,900 tons, 
 or about 5 percent of remaining capacity. The scarcity of sodium hydroxide 
 and coal for both pulp and rayon manufacture are the chief causes for the 
 low production in 1945. 
 
 D. Sulfate Pulp 
 
 The sulfate or kraft process was adopted in Japan at a time when rapid 
 expansion of the pulp and paper industry was taking place in Karafuto with 
 the result that the modern kraft pulp industry was centered in that penin- 
 sula. Before 1939 nearly all of the domestic kraft pulp had Karafuto as 
 its source. No kraft pulp was produced in Korea or Formosa. The average 
 production of kraft pulp in Karafuto, and therefore in Japan, for the years 
 1930 through 1938 was about 48,500 tons per year which was only about 6 per- 
 cent of the total paper pulp production for the same period. Imports of 
 kraft pulp during this period averaged about 26,000 tons per year. The 
 production of kraft in Karafuto and Japan Jroper is illustrated in figure 12. 
 Production of kraft in Japan Proper expanded from fewer than 11,000 tons in 
 1939 to a peak of about 25,000 tons in 1942. By the end of the war in 1945, 
 the rated productive capacity of all Japan was 138,349 tons, but the combined 
 capacity of remaining mills in Japan Proper is only 53,220 tons. Thus it 
 is readily seen that the losrs of over 60 percent of the kraft pulp capacity, 
 coupled with the loss of imports, is of serious consequence to the kraft 
 paper industry and to industries which require products such as paper con- 
 tainers or multiwalled bags. 
 
 The wood species commonly used for kraft pulp are the spruce, fir, red pine, 
 and jack pine. It seems peculiar that the kraft pulp industry, with its 
 flexibility a3 far as wood requirements are concerned, should have been 
 developed chiefly in the high-quality spruce and fir areas such as Karafuto 
 and Hokkaido, while much of the sulfite pulping was developed in areas where 
 pine woods are the predominant pulp wood. 
 
 Remaining kraft mills are operating under difficulties caused by shortages 
 of coal, wood, and salt cake. Since strong and important kraft papers, 
 such as the cement bag paper, were produced largely in Karafuto, the plant 
 equipment and technical background to assume this burden in remaining mills 
 has not yet been acquired. Operations observed in one of the largest kraft 
 mills indicated that cooking procedures were yielding a pulp which would be 
 considered of the semichemical type and which could not readily be prepared 
 for strong papers by the cascades of Kollergangs or edge-runners used as 
 refiners. It is fortunate for the Japanese that his mode of living thus 
 far has not included dependency on large tonnages of containers or grocery 
 bags. 
 
 Report No. R1640 -9- 
 
E. Soda Pulp 
 
 The soda process in addition to its use in the pulping of wood has also 
 been applied to digestion of straw, grass, "bamboo, kozo , mitsumata, bagasse, 
 and otner fibrous materials. Nearly any kind of wood is used for soda 
 pulp in Japan, the most important factor apparently being availability. 
 Kost of the soda pulp produced in Japan is low in strength, poor in color, 
 and non-uniform, and it is consumed in small amounts in a multitude of 
 papers where strength and quality are not important. Such papers include 
 low-grade toilet tissue, box boards, certain writing papers, and Japanese- 
 style papers, including the hand-made variety. Although well-prepared soda 
 pulp has special characteristics which make it suitable for use in certain 
 papers, the tendency in Japan appears to be to consume the pulp wherever 
 it can be tolerated, rather than because of its special properties. 
 
 During the pact 8 years, soda pulp was produced chiefly in Japan Proper and 
 Formosa, with a small production in Korea. No soda pulp was produced i» 
 Hokkaido or in Xarafuto. With one exception, all soda mills are located in 
 the central and southern half of Honshu, in Kyushu, and Shikoku. Because of 
 the small and dispersed nature of the industry, no data are available on 
 production prior to 1938. Total production of soda pulp increased from 
 about 3,000 short tons in 1938 to a high of about 117,000 short tons in 
 1941. In the latter year, the production was about 11 percent of the total 
 production of paper pulp. About one-third of the 1941 production was 
 centered in Formosa. Soda pulp mills total about 50; thus, in Japan Proper 
 in the highest production year, the average annual production per mill was 
 only about 1,500 short tons. The largest mill has a rated annual capacity 
 of 5,380 short tons. 
 
 The production of soda rulp is at a virtual standstill now because of the 
 shortage of caustic soda. The process as practiced in Japan is wasteful 
 of caustic soda, because the sice of the mills is so small that recovery 
 of chemical is not feasible. However, given sufficient chemical, these 
 mills are able to contribute to relief of the fiber shortage by pulping 
 straw, grass, bamboo, »r other materials which normally would not be used 
 by larger pulp mills. 
 
 Paper 
 
 TO an observer familiar v/ith modern Western methods of producing paper, the 
 Japanese industry appears to be an incredible blend of the reasonably modern 
 with the very old. Many machines are very small in size and low in produc- 
 tion, and even hand-made papers seem to be capable of competition with 
 modern machines. This condition is perhaps due in part to the low wage 
 standards of the workers, and, im the case of hand-made papers, to a 
 historical emphasis given to the many special papers incapable of production 
 on modern machinery. 
 
 The manufacture of hand-made papers in Japa» is a fascinating subject in- 
 volving a study of the mode of living and culture of the Orient. While it 
 is true that certain of these papers have a singular and distinctive beauty, 
 
 Feport No. K1640 -10- 
 
their charms have often been exaggerated over the centuries by writers and 
 artists to the point where papers are endowed in terms of attributes 
 usually reserved for humans, such as "masculinity," "dignity," and "sweet 
 temper." 3ecause of the complete dissimilarity of equipment and techniques 
 of manufacture of hand-made and machine-made papers, no detailed description 
 of the industry is given in this report. It may surprise persons familiar 
 with the tedious methods of making hand sheets, however, to note that the 
 production of hand-made papers in Japan in past years was of the order of 
 30,000 tons per year. 
 
 Because the Japanese produced certain papers peculiar to their culture for 
 hundreds of years before machine papers were known to them, the superposition 
 of "foreign-style" paper in relatively recent years resulted in a confusion 
 of classification of the various papers. Originally it was sufficient to 
 distinguish "foreign-style" from "Japanese-style" paper, as the former 
 referred clearly to a wood pulp sheet of doubtful quality, which was machine- 
 made and available in sufficient quantity for consumption by people of 
 moderate means in the form of newspapers, office papers, and wrappings. As 
 machine-made papers necame competitive with the classic hand-papers, however, 
 a further subdivision into "machine-made Japanese papers" and "hand-made 
 Japanese papers" was necessary. The classification is thus more dependent 
 on ( the specific use than the origin of the paper. As an example, a ground- 
 wood and sulfite machine-made toilet tissue may be "foreign style" if sold 
 in the household roll form, or "Japanese style" if converted to the flat 
 packaged sheets often used by the Japanese. A machine-made paper for writing 
 use with the traditional charcoal and brush may be considered "Japanese style" 
 paper, but the same paper applied to office typewriter use would be clearly 
 ^foreign style." At one time, papers produced from the inner bark of the 
 mulberry were all hand-made and thus easily distinguishable from "foreign- 
 style" papers, but certain machine techniques were developed to use these 
 long fibers to produce quality papers, and as an example some of these papers 
 were used in the bombing balloons and in the paper money of Japan. 
 
 The so-called "foreign-style" papers which constitute most of the total 
 paper tonnage in Japan are made almost entirely from common wood pulps. 
 The types of paper include newsprint, printing, wrapping, coated papers, 
 photographic, bond, ledger, blue print, drawing, cigarette, glassine , con- 
 denser, blotter, "banknote, bible paper, toilet tissue, wadding, containers, 
 boards, etc. The machinery is orthodox, of the Fourdrinier, cylinder, 
 Yankee, or combination types. Some of the machines were produced in 
 England, the United States, and Switzerland, and the Japanese-built machines 
 in most cases appear to be copied from imported models. Processing or 
 refining equipment usually consists of ordinary beaters and Jordans , and 
 in some cases Kollergangs. A large amount of coated or "art" papers was 
 made before the war, but coating materials are not available or are very 
 scarce at present. Coating is usually done on conventional coating equip- 
 ment apart from the paper machines. Size-tub equipment was common, but no 
 modern equipment for on-machine coating was observed. Supercalenders are 
 common and are used in the production of glassine and other thin papers 
 having a nigh gloss. The Japanese excelled in the manufacture of thin 
 special papers such as a hemp paper for use as a silk wrap, high-quality 
 
 Report Fo. R1640 -11- 
 
cigarette paper for the tobacco monopoly and export, and kraft condenser 
 par. er as thin as 0.0005 inch. Other special high-quality watermark papers 
 were made for "bank note paper for export to China. Since rosin for sizing 
 was largely imported "before the war, it is now almost completely unavailable, 
 and t.'iis is reflected in the poor water resistance of most papers. Papers 
 made from pine sulfite pulp often had adequate water resistance without the 
 use of sizing, presumably due to natural resins in the wood. Little progress 
 was mai'.e in the development of new special papers, or combinations of paper 
 and chemicals for war use, although certain papers are used to a limited 
 extent for artificial leathers or are twisted and used for fabrics. 6uch 
 recent special papers as moisture -vapor barriers or even wet -strengthened 
 papers appear to be almost nonexistent. 
 
 Machine paper mills in Japan number about 275. Of a total of about 500 
 paper machines somewhat Over 100 are Fourdriniers of the conventional type 
 varying in width from about 42 inches to 180 inches, and about 400 machines 
 are of the cylinder, Yankee, or special types varying in width from about 
 20 inches to 149 inches, with nearly all of the latter group being less 
 than IOC inches wide. A large portion of the paper mills are clustered 
 about tne principal cities as may be seea in the location map of paper mills 
 given in figure 13. The largest mill by a considerable margin is the news- 
 print plant of the Oji Paper Manufacturing Company at Tomakomai, Hokkaido. 
 This mill ha3 ten paper machines, seven of which are 142 inches wide. The 
 Tomakomai mill produces nearly all of the newsprint for Japan, the balance 
 being made by the Xushiro, Yatsoshiro ,and Sakamoto mills of the Oji Company. 
 Damage to paper mills due to bomb raids was greater than that suffered by 
 the pulp mills chiefly because of the location of plants. Fire damage to 
 certain mills ia the large city areas was great, and this fact, coupled with 
 shortages of coal, pulp, and machine parts, had reduced production to about 
 one-third of prewar. Machine wires and felts, particularly the former, 
 were difficult to obtain immediately after the end of the war. Nearly all 
 of the felts and vires were produced by subsidiaries of the Oji Paper 
 Company. Much of the wire-producing capacity was burned but was quickly 
 repaired in a makeshift fashion. The large and modern Nippon Felt Company 
 was undamaged but is dependent upon foreign sources of wool. 
 
 By-products and Pesearch 
 
 A few of the larger sulfite pulp mills utilize their waste liquor for the pro- 
 duction of ethyl alcohol. Although much of the alcohol was made in Xarafuto 
 mills, by the end of the war new plants were under construction in Japan 
 Proper. Modern equipment included continuous fermentation equipment. Sul- 
 fite waste liquor was also concentrated in crude wooden tanks or in modern 
 multiple effect evaporators to produce a material for use as a binder for 
 charcoal briquettes, as an adhesive for paper, and as a tannin substitute. 
 For use as adhesives the waste liquor was treated with lime to a pH of 4,6 
 before evaporation to a concentration of about 200 grams per liter. The 
 high percentage of screenings obtained from the sulfite pulping of pines 
 are disposed of chiefly in the production of insulating boards, a common 
 name for which is "Tex-board. " The screenings are usually reduced in size 
 in an edge runner and the boards continuously formed on a small filter, 
 
 Report "o. K1G40 -12- 
 
and placed in frames for air or kiln drying. Other related products of 
 perhaps lesser importance include crude rosin from pine stumps which is 
 steam distilled to yield wood rosin and turpentine, the refining of pine 
 root oil for fuel and lubricat ion, the manufacture of a "building "brick 
 from coal ashes and lime, and the manufacture of turpentine from sulfite 
 digester vapors. 
 
 The most important and most highly developed research on wood products 
 has "been in the field of cellulose chemistry as related to the chemical 
 utilization of pulp, particularly for rayon. Principal research efforts 
 related to pulp and paper have "been made by the Central Laboratory of the 
 Oji Paper Company, the Institute of Fiber Chemistry at Kyoto Imperial 
 University, Tokyo Imperial University, and other branches of the Imperial 
 universities. Shortages caused by the war have naturally altered the 
 emphasis of study. Much effort appears to be given to the alleviation of 
 salt and fiber shortages. Experiments observed included the continuous 
 electrolysis of sea water in a mercury cell to obtain caustic soda and 
 chlorine for use in pulping. Caustic solutions up to about 20 percent con- 
 centration can be made by this method. The hydrogea. evolved in the elec- 
 trolysis was being used for experiments on the production of fertilizer 
 from sulfite v/aste lignin and rice hulls. It was hoped that the chemicals 
 obtained from the electrolysis could be used in the pulping of straws, 
 woods, and the purification of rayon pulps. Other research efforts were 
 on pulping by the nitric acid method, lignin resins for plastics, sulfite 
 turpentine oil, alcohol produced from artichokes or potatoes, and on pine, 
 beech, and larch for rayon or high- alpha pulps. 
 
 Personnel 
 
 The wage and living standards of Japanese mill workers is very low by 
 Western* standards. Labor-saving equipment, conveniences for employees, and 
 safety devices seem to be at a minimum. Female labor is widely used and in 
 an uncommon number of instances the difficult work such as log barking and 
 the hand loading of railroad cars appears to have been assigned to the girls 
 or women, probably because the wage scale for females is lower. 
 
 The take-home pay of a typical worker is a confused and vague mixture of 
 several components of which "salary" may be only about one-quarter of the 
 total. Other compensations include such items as !, commodity allowance," 
 "residence allowance," "special allowance," "service allowance," and "no 
 absence lionus." In addition, small amounts of fish and rice may be given, 
 A common convenience for employees is the traditional community hot bath 
 which is built for employees at principal mills. The water for this bath 
 is maintained at a high temperature by the use of mill process steam. 
 
 Report No. R1640 -13- 
 
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