Asahi Kasei, A Large Photoresist Manufacturer in Japan, Had A Big Explosion!

At about 13:50 pm local time on the 1st, a large factory in Nobeoka City, Miyazaki Prefecture, Japan suddenly exploded, and many nearby buildings were damaged.

According to reports from Japan's Asahi Shimbun and other media, the incident occurred at the Tokai Plant of Asahi Kasei Corporation in Japan. The nearby Kawashima Elementary School said that there was a loud bang at the scene of the explosion, and the glass windows on the first floor of the teaching building were also shattered.

At the port elementary school about 1 km south of the factory involved, witnesses also heard obvious explosions, and the windows of the school building were shaken. A teacher said, "I thought it was an earthquake at first, but the ground didn't shake, and it felt like a volcanic eruption."

According to the Asahi Kasei Nobeoka branch, the factory mainly manufactures gunpowder materials for engineering and national defense, such as blasting tunnels or mines. The explosion occurred in the factory's experimental facility. At least one person has been confirmed injured, while another is missing. The exact cause of the explosion is still under investigation.

Whether the factory is involved in photoresist and other businesses remains to be further investigated.

The explosion also caused minor infrastructure damage to several residences near the factory. About 5 kilometers northeast of JR Nobeoka Station, there are many factories.

The incident happened at about 2 p.m. local time (1 p.m. Beijing time), about 5 kilometers northeast of JR Nobeoka Station, in an area with many factories. The windows of several houses around the incident site were shattered.

Asahi Kasei is also one of the main suppliers of photoresist in the world. According to data, Asahi Kasei was established in 1922 and headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is the top three comprehensive chemical enterprise groups in Japan, with annual sales of about 120 billion yuan. The group consists of four business segments: chemistry, construction, electronics, and medical.

At present, Asahi Kasei is one of the five largest filter membrane manufacturers in the world. Many water purification plants around the world are using Asahi Kasei membranes to purify water. Asahi Kasei is also Japan's largest manufacturer of medical dialyzers (artificial kidneys), accounting for one-third of the Japanese market. Asahi Kasei is also one of the world's four largest lithium battery separator giants. In addition, Asahi Kasei is one of the major photoresist suppliers in the world. At the same time, Asahi Kasei also produces semiconductor chips.