Toho Zinc

Toho Zinc Co., Ltd. is a Japanese non-ferrous metals manufacturer established in 1937. The company is principally associated with the smelting, refining, processing, and sale of zinc and lead, while also operating recycling activities and a business producing electronic components and materials. Its operations reflect the industrial structure of a vertically oriented metals group: mineral and secondary raw materials are processed at smelting and refining facilities, recovered metals are extracted from recyclable inputs, and selected refined materials are supplied to downstream industrial customers. The company operates several manufacturing bases in Japan. Its Annaka Smelter and Refinery handles zinc-related smelting and refining. The Chigirishima Smelter and Refinery is associated with lead smelting and refining, while the Onahama Smelter and Refinery focuses on recycling operations. The Fujioka Works produces electronic components and materials, extending Toho Zinc beyond primary and secondary metal processing into industrial materials and component manufacturing. The company has also maintained an overseas presence connected with China, including locations in Hong Kong and Shanghai, alongside its Japanese branch and production network. Toho Zinc's principal products and activities serve industrial supply chains rather than consumer markets. Zinc is used in applications including corrosion protection and galvanizing, while lead and recovered metals support batteries, engineering, manufacturing, and other industrial uses. The company's electronic materials business provides a further connection to the electronics sector. Public descriptions identify Toho Zinc as one of Japan's significant zinc producers and as the country's third-largest zinc producer in the referenced Wikipedia account. The company's history also includes a serious environmental controversy involving cadmium poisoning on Tsushima Island in the late twentieth century. This episode is an important part of Toho Zinc's public record and places its historical operations within the broader environmental and public-health challenges associated with non-ferrous metal mining and smelting. The available reference material identifies the company's responsibility for the poisoning but does not provide sufficient detail here to establish a complete chronology, legal outcome, compensation record, or current remediation status. Toho Zinc is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 5707.T. Its business identity remains centered on non-ferrous metals, recycling, refining, and industrial materials. Unlike a consumer-facing brand, Toho Zinc primarily presents itself as an industrial producer whose reputation depends on production capability, materials quality, resource recovery, operational continuity, and environmental responsibility.

Toho Zinc was established in Japan in 1937 as a company focused on non-ferrous metals. Its historical development is closely associated with the country's industrial demand for refined zinc and lead, metals used across construction, manufacturing, infrastructure, transportation, batteries, and other industrial fields. Over time, the company developed an operating structure that combined smelting and refining with recycling and the manufacture of selected electronic components and materials. The company's Japanese production network includes four principal manufacturing sites described in the available reference material. The Annaka Smelter and Refinery performs zinc smelting and refining. The Chigirishima Smelter and Refinery is dedicated to lead-related smelting and refining activities. The Onahama Smelter and Refinery handles recycling operations, indicating a role in recovering usable metals from secondary raw materials rather than relying exclusively on newly mined feedstock. Fujioka Works produces electronic components and materials, giving the company an industrial materials business alongside its core metal operations. Toho Zinc also established a wider commercial and operational footprint through branches in Japan and locations connected with China. The referenced account describes seven branches in Japan and two branches in China, in Hong Kong and Shanghai. These locations supported the company's relationships with customers and suppliers beyond its domestic manufacturing base, although the available material does not specify the precise functions, dates of establishment, or current status of each location. Toho Zinc became recognized as one of Japan's major zinc producers. The referenced Wikipedia article describes it as Japan's third-biggest producer of zinc. Its business scope nevertheless extends beyond zinc: lead refining, metal recycling, electronic components, and electronic materials are all part of the company's industrial profile. This combination allows the company to participate in both primary metals production and downstream or secondary-material markets. A major adverse episode in the company's history concerns cadmium poisoning on Tsushima Island in the late twentieth century. The reference identifies Toho Zinc as responsible for the poisoning. Cadmium exposure associated with metal production can create serious environmental and public-health consequences, making the episode central to any account of the company. The supplied sources do not provide enough information to describe the precise contaminant pathway, affected population, court proceedings, remediation measures, or settlement terms, so those details are not asserted here. Toho Zinc is publicly listed in Japan and trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange under ticker 5707.T. In its current business identity, it remains an industrial materials company built around zinc and lead smelting and refining, recycling, and electronic-materials production. Its history therefore combines the expansion of Japan's non-ferrous metals industry with the environmental responsibilities and risks inherent in smelting and resource-processing operations.

• 1937

  Company established

  [1]Toho Zincen.wikipedia.org

  Toho Zinc was established in Japan as a non-ferrous metals company.

Japanese industrial non-ferrous metals producer specializing in zinc and lead smelting, refining, recycling, and related electronic materials.

• Refined non-ferrous metals

  Zinc

  Zinc is Toho Zinc's principal industrial product area. The company operates the Annaka Smelter and Refinery for zinc smelting and refining, producing material for industrial customers and downstream uses such as corrosion protection, galvanizing, manufacturing, and other applications. The available sources do not identify specific grades, brands, capacities, or customer contracts.

• Refined non-ferrous metals

  Lead

  Lead is another core part of Toho Zinc's non-ferrous metals portfolio. Lead-related smelting and refining are conducted at the Chigirishima Smelter and Refinery. Refined lead can serve industrial and energy-related supply chains, but the supplied references do not specify the company's individual product grades, end-market mix, or sales volumes.

• Metal recycling

  Recycled metals

  Toho Zinc's recycling business is associated with the Onahama Smelter and Refinery. The operation supports recovery and processing of metals from secondary raw materials, complementing the company's primary smelting and refining activities. The available material does not specify the exact feedstocks, recovered-metal portfolio, recycling volumes, or individual commercial product names.

• Electronic materials

  Electronic components and materials

  Fujioka Works produces electronic components and materials, providing Toho Zinc with a downstream industrial business beyond bulk metal refining. These products connect the company to electronics and advanced manufacturing supply chains. The available references do not identify particular component families, technical specifications, customer sectors, or product launch dates.

• Cadmium poisoning on Tsushima Island

  Toho Zinc was identified in the available reference material as responsible for cadmium poisoning on Tsushima Island in the late twentieth century. The supplied sources do not provide enough detail to establish the full chronology, legal findings, public-health impact, remediation program, or compensation outcome.

  Source

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1. 1Toho Zincen.wikipedia.org
2. 2Toho Zinc official websitetoho-zinc.co.jp