Oji Paper Company
Corporate brand
UnclaimedA major Japanese forest-products company whose activities span pulp, paper, packaging, chemicals, equipment, and forestry.
Last updated August 31, 2026
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Overview
Oji Paper Company is a Japanese forest-products and paper-manufacturing business with origins in the foundation of Shoshi Kaisha by industrialist Shibusawa Eiichi on February 12, 1873. The company took the Oji name from the location of its first mill, established in the village of Oji near Tokyo, and developed into one of Japan’s most important producers of Western-style paper. Its historical expansion reflects the industrialization of Japan, the consolidation of the domestic paper sector, postwar antitrust restructuring, and the later internationalization of pulp, paper, packaging, and forestry operations. The company’s manufacturing portfolio includes printing and writing papers, packaging papers and materials, paper-based containers, specialty papers, pulp, paper-production chemicals, and equipment used in paper and packaging manufacture. Its business model is broader than the production of finished sheets: it also incorporates forest management, fiber procurement, converting, packaging, and related industrial materials. Reference material describes a large Japanese production footprint, including 86 production sites, together with forestry activities in Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, New Zealand, and other countries. Oji’s corporate history includes several major reorganizations. In 1933, the original Oji Paper merged with Fuji Paper and Karafuto Industries, creating a highly concentrated company that reportedly accounted for approximately 80 percent of Japan’s Western-style paper output at the time. After the Second World War, government policy aimed at reducing excessive economic concentration divided the business into Tomakomai Paper, Jujo Paper, and Honshu Paper. Tomakomai Paper subsequently expanded beyond its original plant, changed its name to Oji Paper Industries in 1952, and adopted the Oji Paper name again in 1960. The group later grew through acquisitions involving companies such as Kita Nippon Paper, Nippon Pulp Industries, and Toyo Pulp. Further consolidation took place in the 1990s. Oji Paper merged with Kanzaki Paper in 1993 to form New Oji Paper, and New Oji Paper merged with Honshu Paper in 1996, restoring the Oji Paper name. In 2012, the group reorganized under a pure holding-company structure. Oji Holdings Corporation became the holding company, while the paper business was placed in a separate wholly owned company operating under the Oji Paper name. The reorganization enabled the wider group to manage paper, packaging, forest resources, functional materials, and related businesses through a group structure rather than a single operating company. Oji is publicly traded in Japan, with shares listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange and inclusion in the Nikkei 225 reported in reference material. Its competitive positioning combines scale, vertically connected forest and fiber resources, established Japanese manufacturing capabilities, and international operations. At the same time, the company’s overseas businesses have faced pressure from changing demand, energy and logistics costs, recycling economics, and the declining profitability of some conventional paper grades. These pressures were visible in New Zealand in 2024 and 2025, when Oji Fibre Solutions announced the closure of one recycling mill and plans to stop paper processing at the Kinleith Mill while retaining pulp production there.
History
Oji Paper Company traces its origins to Shoshi Kaisha, founded on February 12, 1873, by Shibusawa Eiichi. The company was established during Japan’s modernization and industrialization, when domestic production of Western-style paper was becoming strategically important. Mills were established in Oji, then a suburb of Tokyo, in 1875 and in Shizuoka in 1889. The Oji location became central to the company’s identity, and Shibusawa renamed the enterprise Oji Paper in 1893. Reference material also identifies William Anderson as having gone to Japan to supervise the erection of a paper mill in the early 1870s. The company expanded through the development of manufacturing capacity and consolidation with other paper producers. In 1933, Oji Paper merged with Fuji Paper and Karafuto Industries. The combined company became a dominant force in Japan’s Western-style paper market and was reported to produce about 80 percent of the country’s output. This concentration was subsequently viewed as inconsistent with postwar policies designed to prevent excessive economic power. Under the Excess Economic Powers Decentralization Act, the former company was divided into Tomakomai Paper, Jujo Paper, and Honshu Paper. Tomakomai Paper initially operated as a single-plant business. Its expansion to Kasugai in Aichi Prefecture in 1952 led to the name Oji Paper Industries, and the company adopted the Oji Paper name again in 1960. During the following decades, the business expanded through acquisitions and integration, including transactions involving Kita Nippon Paper, Nippon Pulp Industries, and Toyo Pulp. These moves strengthened its position across pulp and paper manufacturing and helped rebuild a large national operating network. In 1993, Oji Paper merged with Kanzaki Paper and became New Oji Paper. Three years later, New Oji Paper merged with Honshu Paper, creating the modern Oji Paper organization. The next major structural change came in 2012, when the group adopted a pure holding-company model. Oji Holdings Corporation became the parent holding company, while the paper division was transferred to a separately incorporated, wholly owned company operating under the Oji Paper name. This structure reflected the group’s broadening interests in paper, packaging, forestry, chemicals, equipment, and other functional materials. The contemporary group operates across Japan and international markets. Its activities include paper and paperboard for printing, writing, and packaging; containers and converted paper products; pulp; chemicals used in paper production; paper and packaging equipment; and forestry operations. International forestry and manufacturing activities have been reported in countries including Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, Germany, Malaysia, and New Zealand. The company’s scale and resource base have made it one of Japan’s leading paper groups and a significant participant in the global forest, paper, and packaging industry. Recent operating decisions illustrate the structural challenges facing conventional paper manufacturing. In New Zealand, Oji Fibre Solutions announced in 2024 that it would close its Auckland recycling mill and transfer recycled-paper processing to Malaysia. The company later proposed, and in February 2025 confirmed, the cessation of paper processing at Kinleith Mill by the end of June 2025. Pulp production was expected to continue there. These changes were attributed to the weak profitability of paper processing and demonstrate the group’s continuing adjustment of its manufacturing footprint.
- 2025
Kinleith paper processing scheduled to end
[1]Oji Fibre Solutions confirmed that paper processing at Kinleith Mill would end by June, while pulp production would continue.
- 2024
Auckland recycling mill closure announced
[1]Oji Fibre Solutions announced the planned closure of its Auckland recycling mill and the transfer of recycled-paper processing to Malaysia.
- 2012
Holding-company reorganization
[1]The group adopted a pure holding-company structure under Oji Holdings Corporation and separated the paper division into a wholly owned Oji Paper company.
- 1996
Merger with Honshu Paper
[1]New Oji Paper merged with Honshu Paper, returning to the Oji Paper name.
- 1993
Merger with Kanzaki Paper
[1]Oji Paper merged with Kanzaki Paper and became New Oji Paper.
- 1960
Oji Paper name restored
[1]Oji Paper Industries adopted the Oji Paper name.
- 1952
Tomakomai Paper renamed Oji Paper Industries
[1]Expansion to Kasugai, Aichi, accompanied a change from Tomakomai Paper to Oji Paper Industries.
- 1933
Merger with Fuji Paper and Karafuto Industries
[1]The combination created a dominant Japanese paper producer.
- 1893
Company renamed Oji Paper
[1]Shibusawa renamed the company Oji Paper after the location of its first mill.
- 1889
Shizuoka mill established
[1]The company established an additional mill in Shizuoka.
Products and positioning
A large, vertically integrated forest-products and paper group serving industrial, commercial, packaging, and printing markets.
Paper
Printing and writing paper
Oji manufactures paper used in printing, publishing, office, and writing applications. These products represent the company’s traditional paper-making base and connect its forest-fiber resources with commercial and institutional demand.
Packaging
Packaging paper and paperboard
The company produces paper and board materials for packaging uses, supporting the manufacture of cartons, cases, wrapping materials, and other paper-based formats. Packaging is a major area of the group’s broader forest-products and converting activities.
Packaging
Paper-based containers
Oji’s operations include containers made from paper products. These offerings extend the business beyond commodity paper into converted packaging formats supplied to commercial and industrial customers.
Forest products
Pulp
Pulp is a core intermediate material in Oji’s integrated value chain. It is produced from wood fiber and supplied for paper and related applications. The continued pulp role of the Kinleith Mill illustrates the distinction between pulp production and finished-paper processing.
Specialty materials
Specialty papers and functional materials
The group also operates in specialty paper, chemicals used in paper production, and related functional materials. These areas diversify Oji beyond standard printing and packaging grades and support applications requiring particular performance characteristics.
Industrial equipment
Paper and packaging equipment
Oji manufactures or supplies equipment used in paper and paper-packaging production. This capability complements its materials businesses and gives the group an industrial-technology presence alongside its pulp, paper, and packaging operations.
Brand decisions
2025
End of paper processing at Kinleith MillStrategyBackground
Oji Fibre Solutions stated that manufacturing paper at Kinleith had become unprofitable, although pulp production remained viable.
Action taken
The company confirmed that paper processing at the Tokoroa mill would stop by the end of June 2025, with approximately 230 jobs affected and pulp production continuing.
Aftermath
The decision reduced the mill’s finished-paper activities while preserving its pulp operation.
2024
Closure of Auckland recycling millStrategyBackground
Oji Fibre Solutions reviewed its New Zealand recycling and paper-processing footprint amid changing economics for recycled paper and conventional paper manufacturing.
Action taken
The company announced that its Auckland pulp and paper recycling mill would close in mid-December 2024 and that recycled-paper waste processing would move to its Malaysian mill in Banting.
Aftermath
The Auckland site was scheduled to close, while Oji retained operations at the Kinleith Mill at that point.
2012
Adoption of a pure holding-company structureStrategyBackground
The expanding group operated across paper, pulp, packaging, forestry, chemicals, and equipment, creating a need to separate group oversight from individual operating businesses.
Action taken
Oji reorganized as Oji Holdings Corporation and transferred the paper division to a separate wholly owned company operating under the Oji Paper name.
Aftermath
The reorganization established the corporate structure under which the group could manage multiple business areas through a holding company.
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