Company

Our company

Outline

Trading name
Microwave Chemical Co., Ltd (in Japanese: Maikuroha Kagaku Kabushiki Kaisha)
Established
15 August 2007
Representative
YOSHINO Iwao
Number of employees
59 (including 13 with PhDs, as of 1 December 2022)
Business activities
Research & development and engineering of microwave chemical process Licensing of microwave chemical process

Team

Management team

  • President and CEO

    Iwao Yoshino

    Yoshino graduated from Keio University’s Faculty of Law in 1990 and received an MBA from UC Berkeley in 2002, where he was a Hitachi Fellow in the Management of Technology program. After working for Mitsui & Co.’s Chemical Department, he retired to pursue investing and consulting in the USA. In August 2007, he established Microwave Chemical Co., Ltd and became its Chairman & CEO, a position he currently holds.

  • Director and CSO

    Yasunori Tsukahara

    Tsukahara received his PhD from Osaka University’s Graduate School of Science in 2003. He then joined the university’s Graduate School of Engineering as a specially appointed project researcher in 2004. He was named a specially appointed faculty member at the same school in 2006 and became an associate professor in 2018. He specializes in microwave chemistry, inorganic chemistry, and photochemistry.

  • Outside director

    Urata Koyu

    After working for Sony Corporation, McKinsey & Company Inc. Japan, and Japan Investment Corporation, Urata established Japan Material Technologies Corporation in August 2015, where he has served as the Representative Director to the present day. In June 2023, he was appointed as an outside director of Microwave Chemical Co.,Ltd. (present).
    He graduated from the University of Tokyo, Faculty of Law in 2002.

  • Director(Full-time Audit and Supervisory Committee Member)

    Tomoya Shimojo

    Shimojo engaged in statutory audit and listing preparation support services at Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu LLC. Before joining Microwave Chemical Co.,Ltd. in November 2013, he was a Director and General Manager of the Corporate Management Department at Kringle Pharma, Inc.
    At Microwave Chemical Co.,Ltd., he served as Director and General Manager of the Administration Department and has been in his current position since June 2023.
    He graduated from Kobe University, Faculty of Business Administration in 1996. He is a Certified Public Accountant.

  • Outside director(Audit and Supervisory Committee Member)

    Takahashi Yuko

    After working for an auditing firm, Takahashi joined DENTSU INC., where she managed international group companies and oversaw group accounting and financial operations. She served as a non-executive director of Dentsu Group Inc. from 2022 to 2023, and currently serves as an outside director of Hulic Co., Ltd. and an outside auditor of 17LIVE Corporation.
    She graduated from Sophia University with a Bachelor of Laws and completed her Master’s degree at the University of Warwick in the UK. She is a Certified Public Accountant.

  • Outside director(Audit and Supervisory Committee Member)

    Saito Shuichi

    After graduating from Tokyo Metropolitan University with a degree in Engineering, Saito joined Recruit Co., Ltd., where he specialized in legal affairs and IT governance. In 2013, he became a full-time auditor of Hamee Corp. and contributed to its IPO, after which he served on its board of directors. In 2021, he founded 83FOUNDATION to foster sustainability and entrepreneurial support.
    Saito also serves as an outside director for various major and emerging companies.

IP Strategists/Consultant Patent Attorneys

Uchida & Samejima Law Firm

Masahiro Samejima

Lawyer/Patent Attorney

Yuichi Sugio,

Lawyer/Patent Attorney

IRD Patent Office

Hidekazu Tanigawa

Patent attorney

Norimichi Morimoto

Patent attorney

Corporate Legal/General Counsel

Eiko Sogo, Law Office

Gou Morita

Lawyer

History

2007August
Microwave Environmental Chemicals Co., Ltd established in Kyoto, Japan, to commercialize microwave chemical processes.
2008October
Head office relocated to Saito Bio Innovation Centre.
2009March
First fully flow-type reactor (MWF-1 – for biodiesel) launched from the Shimaya business incubator in Osaka.
2011January
UTEC (University of Tokyo Edge Capital) subscribed to Series A private placement, for a total of JPY 120 million.
March
Second fully flow-type reactor (MWF-2 – for manufacturing chemical products) launched from the Kobe Municipal Manufacturing Reconstruction Plant.
June
Came third out of 24 companies selected internationally for bizbarcelona’s Global Entrepreneurship Competition.
November
Company name changed from Microwave Environmental Chemicals Co., Ltd to Microwave Chemical Co., Ltd.
December
Granted dominant patent for “Chemical reaction apparatus and chemical reaction method”.
2012August
Fatty acid esters, the first product from the Kobe Plant, shipped to Toyo Ink Co., Ltd.
October
Head office relocated to the Techno Alliance building on Osaka University’s Suita Campus.
2013May
UTEC, NVCC, Shinsei Bank and JAFCO subscribed to Series B private placement, for a total of over JPY 700 million, aimed at accelerating R&D and establishing the Osaka Plant.
2014March
Construction of Osaka Plant (M3K/) completed.
June
INCJ, JAFCO, UTEC and NVCC subscribed to Series C private placement, for a total of JPY 1.2 billion, aimed at launching new businesses and strengthening next generation pipeline R&D. Relocated to 3F of the Techno Alliance building.
October
Concluded co-development agreement with BASF to improve energy efficiency in polymer production processes.
2015April
Established TMT Co., Ltd, a joint venture with Taiyo Kagaku Co., Ltd to produce food additives.
November
Series D private placement, for a total of JPY 880 million, aimed at funding the construction of a new plant as a joint venture with Taiyo Kagaku, and as development funds for further expansion of MWCC’s areas of business.
2017March
TMT completed construction of microwave-based food additive manufacturing plant in Yokkaichi, Mie Prefecture.
Series E private placement of a total of JPY 400 million, aimed at further expanding the joint venture plant business and strengthening the development structure.
September
Concluded strategic capital alliance with Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. for joint R&D of new microwave-based chemical processes and systems.
November
Concluded strategic business alliance with Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd to promote the sophistication of microwave-assisted production processes and the development of new functional materials.
Concluded strategic business alliance with Futamura Chemical Co., Ltd to reinvent existing production processes and develop new materials using microwaves.
December
Concluded strategic capital and business alliance with Iwatani Corporation for full-scale entry into the next-generation materials sector.
2019May
Construction of second pilot facility at Osaka Plant completed.
November
Series G private placement of a total of JPY 770 million, aimed at strengthening our R&D fundamentals through recruitment, infrastructure development and the like.
2020January
Construction of new office building at Osaka Plant completed.
2021April
Head office relocated to the Photonics Center on Osaka University’s Suita Campus.
2022June
Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market