A number of Japanese firms have recently turned to paper as a more environmentally friendly alternative to plastic products, from water-resistant cardboard boxes to small hangers. The move comes as the government looks to enforce a law to improve the country's plastic recycling practices and ...
Japan startup making paper from stone seeks more pre-IPO funding
Making paper out of rock isn't just a novel idea — it saves water, is both recyclable and biodegradable and uses a mineral resource available anywhere on Earth. TBM Co., a startup known for its technology that turns limestone into business cards, plastic folders and ...
Examining Japan's traditional paper trail
As temperatures drop across the country, washi makers nationwide enter their peak production season.
Rock, investment, paper: Goldman Sachs to buy stake in startup making paper from limestone
Goldman Sachs Group Inc. is buying a stake in TBM Co., a startup that has become known for its technology that turns limestone into paper. The two parties confirmed the deal on Thursday. TBM, which makes business cards, posters, catalogs and stickers from limestone, is ...
'Paper sommelier' hopes to help revive Japan's washi industry
Yoshinao Sugihara, head of a traditional paper wholesaler in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, takes the use of washi paper to a new level in interior design.
Squeezing paper from a stone: an entrepreneur's approach to ease deforestation
Stone tablets were one of the earliest writing tools used by man before paper. One entrepreneur now plans to take things full circle by making paper out of stone. Nobuyoshi Yamasaki's venture TBM Co. makes paper from limestone, a rock it proclaims is "almost inexhaustible." ...
Plastic fantastic: How does Tokyo recycle its waste?
The next time you trek out to the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau, situated on the fringes of Shinagawa along Tokyo Bay, look around and you'll see a giant smokestack by the Konan Ohashi Bridge. The visa-dispensing center, essential for foreign nationals who want to ...
Paper made from stone tempts Japan's top printer to invest
The nation's biggest printing company is funding a startup that makes paper out of rock, in a bid to diversify into new materials and as environmental concerns push companies to seek more sustainable products. Toppan Printing Co., the nation's largest by sales, will form an ...
British washi evangelist rolls out medium as canvas for artists
Growing numbers of artists and designers in Britain are exploring the potential of handmade Japanese paper as a new material with which to work, according to artist Elaine Cooper, one of the very few foreign experts in the field. Cooper, 55, spent 10 years in ...
Honminoshi traditional paper-making flows from long dedication, and UNESCO takes notice
UNESCO recently announced that Honminoshi, a traditional Japanese paper-making craft, is being considered for the organization's list of intangible cultural heritage. Honminoshi originates from Mino in Gifu Prefecture, and boasts more than 1,300 years of history. Masters of the "tesuki washi" (traditional handmade paper) technique are ...
Nippon Paper Industries Co. plans to build a 100-megawatt coal-fired thermal power plant at its paper pulp factory in Akita Prefecture, with the aim of beginning commercial power sales in 2017, industry sources said Thursday. The company will invest tens of billions of yen in ...
Off the beaten path on Japan's paper trail
At a little roadside store in rural Nagano, a foreign tourist is miming a rice bowl with her cupped left hand. Firm in the belief that Japanese washi (paper — wa meaning Japanese and shi meaning paper) was made from rice, she waves her ...
