Milestone-Proposal:Birth and Growth of Primary and Secondary Battery Industries in Japan

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Docket #:2013-14

This Proposal has been approved, and is now a Milestone

To the proposer’s knowledge, is this achievement subject to litigation?

Is the achievement you are proposing more than 25 years old? Yes

Is the achievement you are proposing within IEEE’s designated fields as defined by IEEE Bylaw I-104.11, namely: Engineering, Computer Sciences and Information Technology, Physical Sciences, Biological and Medical Sciences, Mathematics, Technical Communications, Education, Management, and Law and Policy. Yes

Did the achievement provide a meaningful benefit for humanity? Yes

Was it of at least regional importance? Yes

Has an IEEE Organizational Unit agreed to pay for the milestone plaque(s)? Yes

Has the IEEE Section(s) in which the plaque(s) will be located agreed to arrange the dedication ceremony? Yes

Has the IEEE Section in which the milestone is located agreed to take responsibility for the plaque after it is dedicated? Yes

Has the owner of the site agreed to have it designated as an IEEE Milestone? Yes

Year or range of years in which the achievement occurred:

1893-1971: The year 1893 is the one, in which Sakizo Yai acquired a Japanese patent for the first battery invention. Actually, Yai’s battery invention and his establishment of ‘Yai Dry Battery Limited Partnership Company’ gave birth to the Japanese dry battery industry. However, the year of either Yai’s battery invention or his company establishment can not be accurately identified. Hence, in this proposal the year 1893 of Yai’s patent acquirement has to be regarded as the birth year of the Japanese battery industry. On the other hand, the year 1971 is the one, in which Panasonic Corporation began to release lithium batteries, which contributed distinctively to the glorious diffusion of today’s mobile terminal devices.

Title of the proposed milestone:

Birth and Growth of Primary and Secondary Battery Industries in Japan, 1893

Plaque citation summarizing the achievement and its significance; if personal name(s) are included, such name(s) must follow the achievement itself in the citation wording: Text absolutely limited by plaque dimensions to 70 words; 60 is preferable for aesthetic reasons.

Yai Dry Battery Limited Partnership Company received a patent for Yai's battery invention in 1893, giving birth to the Japanese dry battery industry, and contributing to its growth. Following this success, GS Yuasa Corporation and Panasonic Corporation pioneered a huge market of both primary and secondary batteries installed in industrial equipment and in home appliances. It advanced Japanese battery industries and consumer electronics.

200-250 word abstract describing the significance of the technical achievement being proposed, the person(s) involved, historical context, humanitarian and social impact, as well as any possible controversies the advocate might need to review.

IEEE technical societies and technical councils within whose fields of interest the Milestone proposal resides.

In what IEEE section(s) does it reside?

Kansai Section

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) which have agreed to sponsor the Milestone:

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) paying for milestone plaque(s):

Unit: Kansai Section
Senior Officer Name: Masaki Koyama

IEEE Organizational Unit(s) arranging the dedication ceremony:

Unit: Kansai Section
Senior Officer Name: Masaki Koyama

IEEE section(s) monitoring the plaque(s):

IEEE Section: Kansai Section
IEEE Section Chair name: Hidetoshi Onodera

Milestone proposer(s):

Proposer name: Isao Shirakawa
Proposer email: Proposer's email masked to public

Please note: your email address and contact information will be masked on the website for privacy reasons. Only IEEE History Center Staff will be able to view the email address.

Street address(es) and GPS coordinates in decimal form of the intended milestone plaque site(s):

-Intended plaque sites of GS Yuasa Corporation: (1) GS Yuasa International Ltd., Kyoto Head Office, Address: 1, Inobanba-cho, Nishinosho, Kisshoin, Minami-ku, Kyoto, 601-8520 Japan, GPS coordinates: 34.981091N, 135.728056E, (2) GS Yuasa International Ltd., Tokyo Head Office, Address: 1-7-13, Shiba-Koen, Minato-ku. Tokyo, 105-0011 Japan, GPS coordinates: 35.657403N, 139.752515E, (3) GS Yuasa International Ltd., Kyoto Head Office, Global Technical Head Quarters, Address: 1, Inobanba-cho, Nishinosho, Kisshoin, Minami-ku, Kyoto, 601-8520 Japan, GPS coordinates: 34.977733N, 135.723327E,

- Intended plaque sites of Panasonic Corporation: (1) Panasonic Corporation, Automotive & Industrial Systems Company Head Office, Address: 1006 Kadoma, Kadoma City, Osaka, 571-8506 Japan, GPS coordinates: 34.739220N, 135.572667E, (2) Panasonic Corporation, Energy Device Business Division Head Office, Address: 1-1 Matsushita-cho, Moriguchi City, Osaka, 570-8511 Japan, GPS coordinates: 34.727641N, 135.566782E, (3) Panasonic Corporation, Portable Rechargeable Battery Business Group Head Office, Address: 222-1 Kaminaizen, Sumoto City, Hyogo, 656-8555 Japan, GPS coordinates: 34.343814N, 134.860671E

Describe briefly the intended site(s) of the milestone plaque(s). The intended site(s) must have a direct connection with the achievement (e.g. where developed, invented, tested, demonstrated, installed, or operated, etc.). A museum where a device or example of the technology is displayed, or the university where the inventor studied, are not, in themselves, sufficient connection for a milestone plaque.

Please give the address(es) of the plaque site(s) (GPS coordinates if you have them). Also please give the details of the mounting, i.e. on the outside of the building, in the ground floor entrance hall, on a plinth on the grounds, etc. If visitors to the plaque site will need to go through security, or make an appointment, please give the contact information visitors will need. -Intended plaque sites of GS Yuasa Corporation: (1) GS Yuasa International Ltd., Kyoto Head Office: Entrance Hall on the ground floor. (2) GS Yuasa International Ltd., Tokyo Head Office: Entrance Hall on the ground floor. (3) GS Yuasa International Ltd., Kyoto Head Office, Global Technical Head Quarters: Entrance Hall on the ground floor.

-Intended plaque sites of Panasonic Corporation: (1) Panasonic Corporation, Automotive & Industrial Systems Company Head Office: Entrance Hall on the ground floor. (2) Panasonic Corporation, Energy Device Business Division Head Office: Entrance Hall on the ground floor. (3) Panasonic Corporation, Portable Rechargeable Battery Business Group Head Office: Entrance Hall on the ground floor.

Are the original buildings extant?

As for both GS Yuasa Corporation and Panasonic Corporation, the original buildings are extant. On the other hand, as for Yai Dry Battery Company, this company no more exists, and hence the site of plaque for this company is now being searched for.

Details of the plaque mounting:

All the plaques are planned to be placed in the entrance halls on the ground floor of the Head Offices of both GS Yuasa Corporation and Panasonic Corporation.

How is the site protected/secured, and in what ways is it accessible to the public?

All the plaques will be displayed within secure showcases at the intended sites of both GS Yuasa Corporation and Panasonic Corporation, which can be accessible to the public.

Who is the present owner of the site(s)?

GS Yuasa Corporation and Panasonic Corporation

What is the historical significance of the work (its technological, scientific, or social importance)? If personal names are included in citation, include detailed support at the end of this section preceded by "Justification for Inclusion of Name(s)". (see section 6 of Milestone Guidelines)

The major historic significance concerning the birth and growth of Japanese primary and secondary battery industries is briefed item for item in what follows.

1. Historic Background before Birth of Japanese Battery Industry

Since the first electrochemical battery was invented by Alessandro Volta in 1799 in Italy [1], a variety of batteries were developed, such as Daniell battery in 1836, Poggendorff battery in 1842, Grove battery in 1844, etc., all of which were ‘wet batteries’. Up to that point, all existing batteries would be permanently drained when all their chemical reactions were spent [2]. In 1859 Gaston Planté invented a lead-acid battery, which could be recharged by passing a reverse current through it. This Planté battery was the first-ever rechargeable battery, which is regarded as the origin of the secondary battery industry [2].

On the other hand, in 1866 George Leclanche invented a battery which consisted of a zinc anode and a manganese dioxide cathode wrapped in a porous material. This Leclanche battery achieved very quick success in telegraphy, signalling and electric bell work, which laid the base of manufacturing the ‘dry battery’. In fact, on the basis of this battery, Carl Gassner invented in 1887 the world’s first commercially successful dry battery, which became the prototype for the primary battery industry [2,3].

2. Birth and Growth of Primary Battery Industry in Japan

2.1 Birth of Japanese Dry Battery Industry

It is written in the Yai’s brochure that in 1885 Sakizo Yai invented a dry battery and also established ‘Yai Dry Battery Limited Partnership Company’, where the documentary evidence for the year of either Yai’s battery invention or his company establishment can not be accurately identified [4]. However, there is the historical evidence that in 1893 Yai acquired a Japanese patent (No. 2,086) for the dry battery invention, and that the Yai battery was installed in the seismograph (assembled by Imperial University of Science, presently University of Tokyo), which was exhibited in EXPO 1893 in Chicago, commanding strong attention from visitors [4].

Although Yai invented a battery-powered clock in 1885, for which he acquired a Japanese patent (No. 1205) in 1891, the battery used in this clock was a wet one with the disadvantage of being unusable when they froze in the winter. Hence he began his quest to manufacture a dry battery, when there was a great difficulty that chemicals were leaking out of the positive terminal, and the metal became corroded and unusable. Yai tried desperately to impregnate paraffin in a carbon rod, until he succeeded in the impregnation, resulting in the first dry battery invention in Japan, which was patented in 1893 [4].

At that time, however, ordinary households could not yet enjoy the benefit of electricity even in Tokyo, where candles and oil lamps were still used for light source, and accordingly battery-powered products were so few that the demand for batteries was very little. Under such circumstances, the Sino-Japanese War broke out in August 1894, when the Leclanche battery was the latest commercially available one in Japan, which was, however, in danger of freezing in the Manchuria’s harsh winter cold. Hence the Yai battery was boldly attempted to be used for telegraphy in the War, resulting in substantial success. Soon after, an extra edition of newspaper reported the success achieved by the Yai battery in the Manchuria’s cold, which revealed the existence of the Yai battery, and subsequently made Yai’s company grow steadily [4,5].

Specifically, Yai established in 1910 the sales division of his company in Kanda-ku, Tokyo, and then built a factory in Asakusa-ku, Tokyo, which grew to the largest in Japan with the annual production volume of more than 200,000 units as of 1921. Unfortunately, however, in September 1923 the Great Kanto Earthquake of magnitude 7.9 struck the Kanto Plane, by which all facilities of his company were burnt to ashes. Nevertheless, Yai soon managed to rebuild a new factory in Kawasaki near Tokyo (see Fig. 1), where numbers of commercially successful batteries were produced, as shown in Fig. 2 [4].

Thus Yai paved the way for the dry battery business. In fact, the functional qualities of Yai batteries were evaluated officially as the best in terms of discharge and lifetime characteristics [4]. Yai’s company beat out domestic and foreign competitors, and grew to reign supreme over the Japanese dry battery market. Eventually, he became known as the "king of dry battery" [4,5], but unfortunately he passed away by stomach cancer in 1927. Since Yai’s company was not inherited by his successors, the company name disappeared from the registry of the Japan Battery and Appliance Industries Association (JBAA) in 1950 [4,5].

2.2 Primary Batteries for Consumer Electronics

Following Yai’s glorious triumph, numbers of start-ups were established for producing dry batteries, among which ‘Matsushita Electric Co., Ltd.’ founded by Konosuke Matsushita in Osaka in 1918, achieved quantum leaps in the dry battery business by making a stepping-stone of the battery-powered lamp, as shown in Fig. 3, developed in 1923 dedicatedly for use in bicycles [4]. With great success in battery business, ‘Matsushita Electric’ was reconstructed in 1935 as a household appliance company, named ‘Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.’, operating ‘Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd.’ and ‘National Storage Battery Co., Ltd.’ as subsidiaries, both of which achieved dramatic progress after World War II by developing a great variety of primary and secondary batteries, respectively.

In fact, ‘Matsushita Battery Industry’ released in quick succession a great number of carbon-zinc (or manganese), silver-oxide, alkaline-manganese, and lithium batteries in the mid 1950’s through the early 1970’s (for example, see Figs. 4, 5, and 6), with which a huge market of consumer electronics was created in Japan [6], where it should be noticed that (a) ‘Hi-Top’ improved dramatically the life length and temperature property of ‘Hyper’, while ‘Neo Hi-Top’ attained 17 countries’ patents and 943 domestic patents and utility model rights, and furthermore, a series of carbon-zinc batteries of Fig. 4 contributed primarily to opening up a whole new market of home appliances, with the greatest market share of dry batteries in Japan, (b) alkaline-manganese batteries of Fig. 5 cultivated new fields of household appliances, such as tape-recorders, 8-mm movie cameras, strobes, shavers, etc., due to strong-load and low-temperature characteristics, (c) lithium batteries of Fig. 6 released first in 1971 contributed distinctively to creating a new market of digital appliances, such as electronic watches, personal computers, digital cameras, mobile terminal devices, etc., and (d) ‘Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.’ together with all of its subsidiaries was merged into the today’s ‘Panasonic Corporation’ in 2008.

3. Birth and Growth of Secondary Battery Industry in Japan

3.1 Birth of Japanese Lead-Acid Battery Industry

In 1895 Genzo Shimadzu succeeded in manufacturing the first prototype lead-acid battery in Kyoto, which gave birth to the Japanese lead-acid battery industry. At that time the electric grids were so unstable that blackouts occurred very frequently all over Japan. Hence high-capacity batteries were indispensable for backup power, which were, however, dependent mostly on imports. Thereby Shimadzu took great pains to devise a high-capacity lead-acid battery, until he succeeded in developing the one of high-capacity 150Ah in 1904, which was set up for the backup power supply in his factory. However, he never dreamed that a total of 400 units of the same products of capacity 150Ah would be ordered at once from the Japanese Navy, which were utilized for telegraphy in the Battle of Tsushima in May 1905 [7].

This proven performance exemplified the industrial importance of lead-acid batteries, which further enhanced the refinement of existing manufacturing technologies. In fact, with the rapidly rising demand for lead-acid batteries for use in telephone/telegraph stations, battleships, backup power, etc., he made every effort to tool up production in his factory, until in 1912 he acquired the Japan’s first patent (No. 22,232) for manufacturing lead-acid batteries [7].

In 1917 Shimadzu established ‘Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd.’ in Kyoto. After a continual process of trial and error, in 1919 he managed to invent an epoch-making methodology for manufacturing lead-acid batteries, called ‘reactive lead oxide production method’ [8], for which he acquired not only a Japanese patent (No. 41,728) in February 1922, but also French, English, USA, and German patents in November 1922, May 1923, May 1926, and October 1929, respectively, together with other 11 countries’ patents, including Italian, Austrian, Belgian, Czech, Swedish, Canadian, and Australian ones [7]. As a result, his factory had to have incessant visitors from home and abroad to look into the manufacturing process in operation [7]. Thus it can be seen that Shimadzu contributed outstandingly to the advance of the world’s lead-acid battery industry.

Following Shimadzu’s great achievements, Shichizaemon Yuasa started ‘Yuasa Storage Battery Co., Ltd.’ in 1918, which built the Japan’s largest battery factory in 1919 in Takatsuki, Osaka, (see Fig. 7), to meet the latent demand for lead-acid batteries, which were expected to grow after World War I (1914-1918) for use in submarines, railroad facilities, mines, telephone stations, standby power, locomotives, automobiles, etc. [9]

3.2 Motorization in Japan

With the rapid advance of Japanese motorization starting from the early 1950’s, the number of automobiles in Japan exceeded one million at the end of 1953 [7]. As the demand for automotive batteries grew at an accelerated pace, a variety of high-capacity batteries with low-temperature characteristics were newly developed in the early 1950’s (for example, see Fig. 8). In addition, with the rising demand for motorcycles, a new type of compact batteries packed in plastic containers were also produced in the mid 1950’s (for example, see Fig. 9) [7,9,10].

Thus the share of automotive batteries rapidly climbed to the top in the Japanese secondary battery market in the early 1970’s, which was achieved mainly by the big three battery companies, ‘Japan Storage Battery’, ‘Yuasa Storage Battery’, and ‘National Storage Battery’ [7,9,10], where it should be added that the first two companies were merged into ‘GS Yuasa Corporation’ in 2004, and that the last one was merged into ‘Panasonic Corporation’ in 2008, as already stated..

3.3 Ni-Cd batteries for Industrial Equipment and Home Appliances

The nickel-cadmium (Ni-Cd) battery, which is a type of rechargeable battery, was originally invented by Waldemar Jungner in Sweden in 1899. Due to its distinctive features of much higher energy density, smaller/lighter property, over-charge/discharge tolerance, higher performance at low temperatures, and longer lifetime property, as compared with those of the lead-acid battery, the demand for Ni-Cd batteries grew dramatically for use not only in industrial equipment but also in consumer electronics [11].

Specifically, in Japan the production of Ni-Cd batteries started in 1953, in order to be substituted for nickel-iron batteries so far utilized mainly for safety lamp in coal mines [7]. Subsequently, Ni-Cd batteries were targeted at standby power supplies installed in electric trains of private/public railway companies, such as Kintetsu’s limited express (see Fig. 10) and JNR’s Tokaido-Shinkansen (Bullet Trains), in the late 1950’s through the mid 1960’s, where batteries were of “pocket type”, constructed of nickel-plated steel pockets containing nickel and cadmium active materials [7,9,10].

In addition, triggered by the Japanese Building Standards Act revised in 1971, which obliged buildings to be provided with emergency lighting, the demand for high-capacity Ni-Cd batteries suddenly increased for use in industrial equipment, such as backup power systems (see Fig. 11), uninterruptible power supplies, disaster-prevention wireless systems, aircraft starting, load adjustment, engine starting for backup turbines, etc.[7,9,10,12]

On the other hand, expecting much of future diffusion of mobile/portable/cordless home appliances, ‘Matsushita Electric Industrial’ acquired in 1962 a USA patent (No. 3,041,388) for manufacturing sintered-plate Ni-Cd batteries [6,10]. However, it was ‘SANYO Electric Co. Ltd.’ that began to release Ni-Cd battery ‘Cadnica‘ in 1964 (see Fig. 12) for the first time in Japan mainly for home appliances [13], where it should be added that ‘SANYO Electric’ was merged into ‘Panasonic Corporation’ in 2011.

Following ‘SANYO Electric’, ‘Matsushita Electric Industrial’ also started the commercialization of Ni-Cd batteries in 1970 (see Fig. 13) [13], which accelerated broadening the application fields of Ni-Cd batteries not only to household products, such as portable/cordless/wireless appliances and electric power tools, but also to miniature button cells installed in photographic equipment, hand-held lamps (flashlight or torch), computer memories, toys, novelties, etc. [6,10,12]. Thus, it can be seen that Ni-Cd batteries also established a firm position in the secondary battery market in the 1970’s [12].

Eventually, as to the historic significance associated with the birth and growth of primary and secondary battery industries in Japan, it can be concluded that ‘Yai Dry Battery Limited Partnership Company’ gave birth to the Japanese dry battery industry, and contributed primarily to its growth, and that ‘GS Yuasa Corporation‘ and ‘Panasonic Corporation’ pioneered a huge market of both primary and secondary batteries installed not only in industrial equipment but also in home appliances, and contributed outstandingly to the advance of battery industries and consumer electronics in Japan.

What obstacles (technical, political, geographic) needed to be overcome?

Japanese primary and secondary battery industries encountered a number of obstacles in the start-up and growth stages, which were timely overcome, as outlined in what follows.

1. Obstacle to Invention of Dry Battery

The obstacle which Sakizo Yai faced before inventing the first dry battery, is briefed as follows: As already stated above, Yai invented in 1885 a battery-powered clock, called the “continuous electric clock”, which was patented in 1891 as the Japan’s first patent related to electricity [4]. Since the battery used in this clock was a wet one with the disadvantage of being unusable in the freeze-up, he began his quest to invent a dry battery, when there was the difficulty that chemicals were leaking out of the positive terminal, and the metal became corroded and unusable. Thus he worked consistently on impregnating paraffin in a carbon rod, until he overcame the difficulty by finding a sophisticated impregnation method, resulting in the first dry battery invention in Japan [4].

2. Obstacle after Invention of Yai Battery

After Yai invented the first dry battery, there still remained a serious obstacle to the progress of the battery industry. As already stated, at that time ordinary households could not yet enjoy the benefit of electricity even in Tokyo, where candles and oil lamps were still used for light source, and accordingly the demand for battery-powered products was very little. Against such a sluggish background, the Sino-Japanese War broke out in August 1894, when even the latest Leclanche battery had no use in the Manchuria’s harsh winter cold. Hence Yai got a rush order from the Japanese Army for 50 units of dry batteries, which were successfully utilized for telegraphy in the War [4]. Soon after, an extra edition of newspaper reported the successful achievement of the Yai battery in the Manchuria’s cold, which built recognition of the Yai battery, and consequently made Yai’s company grow to the one with the greatest annual production in Japan [7], as already stated.

3. Obstacle to Manufacturing Lead-Acid Batteries

When Shimadzu established ‘Japan Storage Battery’ in 1917, there was a severe obstacle that the quality of any material used in anode plates was too unstable for their life length to be practically secured. Even though there was an easy choice of importing from abroad the methodology of manufacturing such a high quality material, Shimadzu stuck firm to devising it completely in-house [7]. Through a sequence of trials and errors he at last invented in 1919 an epoch-making manufacturing methodology, called ‘reactive lead oxide production method’, for which he acquired not only a Japanese patent, but also 15 foreign countries’ patents, including French, English, USA, German, and Italian ones [7], as already stated above. Thus Shimadzu contributed outstandingly to the advance of the lead-acid battery industry.

4. Great Kanto Earthquake

Even after Shimadzu invented the revolutionary methodology, there still remained a substantial obstacle to promoting diffusion of lead-acid batteries. It was at that time that the Great Kanto Earthquake struck in 1923, which caused a drastic change in the demand for lead-acid batteries. Specifically, to cope with urgent request for the infrastructure construction to recover from the Great Earthquake, a tremendous number of lead-acid batteries had to be manufactured for backup power systems installed in factories, office buildings (for example, see Fig. 14), telephone stations, train sheds, electric power substations, etc.

In addition, just after the Great Earthquake, NHK started the radiobroadcast in 1925, which created a sudden demand for dry batteries. Specifically, provoked by the start of radiobroadcast service, numbers of start-ups began to produce specific types of dry batteries dedicatedly for radio receivers, which were, however, supplied mostly by Yai’s company [4]. Furthermore, according as new broadcast stations were opened in prefectural metropolises one after another throughout Japan, a great number of dedicated lead-acid batteries were also put into the market of radio receivers (for example, see Fig. 15; A-type battery for the filament voltage, and B-type for the plate voltage in vacuum tube radio receivers) [7,9]. In this way Japanese primary and secondary battery industries contributed greatly to the post-quake reconstruction.

5. Postwar Reconstruction

The catastrophic destruction all over Japan by numbers of air raids during World War II (1939-45) was the largest-ever obstacle to the progress of the Japanese battery industry. It should be remarked here that just after the War till 1952, GHQ (General Headquarters of the Allied Powers), led by General Douglas MacArthur, enacted widespread military, political, economic, and social reforms in Japan.

In October 1949 GHQ carried out a full-scale deregulation for the automobile production so far restricted rigidly to trucks, resulting in an intense trigger to the motorization in Japan, which increased drastically the demand for automotive lead-acid batteries [7]. In parallel to this motorization, the urgent request for industrial reconstruction all over Japan also expanded extensively the demand for high-capacity lead-acid batteries for use in backup power supplies installed in factories, office buildings, power substations, telephone stations, etc. [7,9,10],.

In addition to lead-acid batteries, nickel-iron batteries were also produced in large quantity in the late 1940’s through the mid 1950’s dedicatedly for safety lamps used in coal mines [7]. Subsequently, in the late 1950’s through the mid 1960’s, triggered by the rapid advance of public/private railroad systems, represented by Tokaido-Shinkansen (Bullet Trains) opened in 1964, the demand for Ni-Cd batteries of pocket type grew suddenly for use in standby power supplies of trains [7,9,10], as already stated.

On the other hand, the drastic progress of carbon-zinc battery business starting in the mid 1950’s, represented by those of Fig. 4, enlarged steadily the postwar market of battery-run appliances, such as lighters for cooking stoves, stove burners, clocks, etc., where it should be added that the annual production volume of ‘Hyper’ grew to 120 million units in 1955 [6]. Thus carbon-zinc dry batteries contributed consistently to enhancing the electrification of Japanese postwar daily life [6,10].

Thus it can be seen that in the late 1940’s through the mid 1960’s Japanese primary and secondary battery industries contributed remarkably not only to the astonishing postwar reconstruction but also to the magnificent diffusion of consumer electronics in Japan.

What features set this work apart from similar achievements?

There are numbers of distinctive features of Japanese primary and secondary battery industries in the start-up and growth stages, which are summarized item for item in what follows.

1. Unique Birth of Japanese Battery Industry

The start-up stage of Japanese primary and secondary battery industries was distinctive in that there were two great figures, Sakizo Yai and Genzo Shimadzu, who contributed primarily to the birth as well as to the growth of Japanese primary and secondary battery industries, respectively, as briefed in what follows.

1.1 Sakizo Yai

Yai was born in Nagaoka, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, in 1863. At the age of 13, he became an apprentice at a watch shop in Tokyo. As already stated, in 1885 he invented a battery-powered clock, for which he attained the Japan’s first patent related to electricity in 1891. Since the battery used in this clock was a wet one with the disadvantage of being unusable in the freeze-up, he began his quest to invent a dry battery. He worked diligently as a hand at a science university laboratory, where he consulted at length with academics on impregnating paraffin in a carbon rod, until he succeeded in devising the first dry battery by finding a sophisticated impregnation method [4,5]. Thus Yai gave birth to the Japanese dry battery industry. As already stated above, after numbers of troubles and difficulties, Yai’s company managed to release in quick succession numbers of commercially successful batteries of Fig. 2, and grew to reign supreme over the Japanese dry battery market [4]. Thus Yai also contributed to the growth of the Japanese dry battery industry.

1.2 Genzo Shimadzu

Genzo Shimadzu was born in Kyoto in 1869. In 1895 he succeeded in manufacturing the first prototype lead-acid battery. In 1896, only a year after Dr. Roentgen discovered X-rays, he succeeded in producing X-ray images, and moreover, in 1909 he developed the Japan’s first medical X-ray device [14]. Subsequently, in 1917 he established ‘Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd.’ As already stated, this new company faced a great difficulty that the quality of any material used in anode plates was too unstable for practical use. After a great deal of trial and error Shimadzu invented in 1919 a revolutionary methodology, called ‘reactive lead oxide production method’, for which he acquired not only a Japanese patent but also 15 foreign countries’ patents [7]. Thus, it can be seen that Shimadzu contributed outstandingly to the birth and growth of the Japanese lead-acid battery industry.

2. Contribution to Postwar Reconstruction

As already stated, in 1949 GHQ implemented a new law of deregulating the automobile production in Japan so far restricted strictly to trucks, which served as an intense trigger to Japanese motorization, and therefore created a drastic demand for automotive lead-acid batteries. In parallel to this motorization, upon urgent request for the postwar reconstruction all over Japan, the demand for high-capacity lead-acid batteries grew dramatically for backup power supplies installed in factories, office buildings, power substations, telephone stations, etc. [7,9,10]. On the other hand, in the late 1940’s through the mid 1950’s, a great amount of nickel-iron batteries were also produced mainly for safety lamps used in coal mines, which contributed greatly to the postwar mining industry [7], as stated before. Thus it can be seen that the secondary battery industry, led primarily by ‘GS Yuasa Corporation’ and ‘Panasonic Corporation’, contributed enormously to the postwar reconstruction all over Japan as well as the motorization in Japan.

3. Contribution to Consumer Electronics

As already stated, ‘Matsushita Electric Industries’ together with ‘SANYO Electric’ released a tremendous amount of carbon-zinc, silver-oxide, alkaline-manganese, Ni-Cd, and lithium batteries in quick succession in the mid 1950’s through the early 1970’s, with which a huge market of consumer electronics was created in Japan, where it should be noticed that (i) carbon-zinc batteries, represented by ‘Hyper’, ‘Hi-Top’, and ‘Neo Hi-Top’ of Fig. 4, expanded drastically their application fields in consumer electronics [6], with the greatest share of the total production volume of primary batteries in Japan [12], (ii) alkaline-manganese batteries broadened their applications to newly introduced appliances, such as tape-recorders, 8-mm movie cameras, strobes, shavers, etc., due to strong load performance and low- temperature characteristics [6,12], (iii) Ni-Cd batteries contributed greatly to expanding their applications not only to new consumer products, such as portable electronics, cordless/wireless appliances, electric power tools, etc., but also to miniature button cells installed in photographic equipment, flashlight/torch lamps, computer memory, toys, novelties, etc.[6,10,12], (iv) lithium batteries released first in 1971 contributed extensively to the widespread diffusion of today’s digital appliances, such as digital watches, personal computers, digital cameras, mobile terminal devices, etc. [6,12,13], and (v) ‘Matsushita Electric Industrial Co. Ltd.’ together with all of its subsidiaries and ‘SANYO Electric’ have been merged into ‘Panasonic Corporation’, as already stated. Thus it can be seen that ‘Panasonic Corporation’ contributed distinctively to creating a huge market of primary and secondary batteries for use in consumer electronics.

4. Overseas Expansion

After World War II, Japan resumed the international trade, firstly working on the export of automotive lead-acid batteries to South East Asia, Middle East, Africa, South America, and USA, among which South East Asia became the largest market in the 1950’s [7]. Accordingly the Japanese auto industry started car exports to South East Asia in the early 1960’s, where on-site car assemblies were also undertaken. In step with this business trend, the big three battery companies, ‘Japan Storage Battery’, ‘Matsushita Electric Industrial’, and ‘Yuasa Storage Battery’ established joint business ventures for manufacturing automotive batteries in the late 1960’s through the mid 1970’s in South East Asian countries, such as Thailand, Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Singapore, Malaysia, etc. [7,9,10]

On the other hand, as for the dry battery business, ‘Matsushita Electric Industries’ established joint business ventures for manufacturing dry batteries in the early 1960’s through the early 1970’s, not only in Asian countries, such as Thailand, Malaysia, Taiwan, India, Indonesia, and Philippines, but also in South American countries, such as Peru, Costa Rica, and Brazil [6]. Thus it can be seen that ‘Panasonic Corporation’ and ‘GS Yuasa Corporation’ contributed extensively to the progress of both primary and secondary battery industries in Asia and South America in the early 1960’s through the mid 1970’s [6,7,9,10].

Why was the achievement successful and impactful?

Supporting texts and citations to establish the dates, location, and importance of the achievement: Minimum of five (5), but as many as needed to support the milestone, such as patents, contemporary newspaper articles, journal articles, or chapters in scholarly books. 'Scholarly' is defined as peer-reviewed, with references, and published. You must supply the texts or excerpts themselves, not just the references. At least one of the references must be from a scholarly book or journal article. All supporting materials must be in English, or accompanied by an English translation.

IEEE Milestone in Electrical Engineering and Computing: “Volta's Electrical Battery Invention, 1799”; see http://www.ieeeghn.org/wiki/index.php/Alessandro_Volta
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_battery
http://www.batteryfacts.co.uk/BatteryHistory/Gassner.html
History Editorial Board of Japan Battery and Appliance Industries Association (JBAA), ed., “History of Japan Dry Battery Industry”, JBAA, Tokyo, 1960 (in Japanese).
http://www.baj.or.jp/e/knowledge/history01.html
History Editorial Board of Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd., ed., “50 Years’ Visual History of Dry Battery Production”, Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd., Osaka, 1981 (in Japanese).
History Editorial Board of Japan Storage Battery, Co., Ltd., ed., “100 Years’ History of Japan Storage Battery”, Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd., Kyoto, 1995 (in Japanese).
http://www.gs-yuasa.com/us/corporate/pdf/a4_history(e).pdf
Editorial Board of 75 Years’ Company History, ed., “75 Years’ History of Yuasa”, Yuasa Storage Battery Co., Ltd., Osaka, 1993 (in Japanese).
History Editorial Board of National Storage Battery Co., Ltd., ed., “50 Years of National Storage Battery”, National Storage Battery Co., Ltd., Osaka, 1985 (in Japanese).
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Nickel%E2%80%93cadmium_battery
H. Ogawa, “Recent trend of battery technology”, National Technological Report, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 780-798, Dec. 1981 (in Japanese).
http://panasonic.net/ec/company/history.html
http://www.barascientific.com/profile/Shimadzu/thai/shimadzu_memorial.php

Appendix

References [4], [6], [7], [9], [10], and [12] were written in Japanese, for which English summaries are added to this Appendix in what follows.

Appendix 1. Reference [4]: History Editorial Board of Japan Battery and Appliance Industries Association (JBAA), ed., “History of Japan Dry Battery Industry”, JBAA, Tokyo, 1960 (in Japanese).

This book describes the details of history of the dry battery industry in Japan, from its birth to 1960, containing 640 pages. A part of the table of those contents which are related to this proposal, is as follows:

Preliminaries: Outline of Progress of Primary Batteries, Part I: Historical Overview, Chapter 1: Introduction of Batteries into Japan and Shozan Sakuma, Chapter 2: Meiji Era, Chapter 3: Taisho Era, Chapter 4: Showa Era; Prior Period (till the end of World War II), Chapter 5: Showa Era; Latter Period (after the end of World War II)

Appendix 2. Reference [6]: History Editorial Board of Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd., ed., “50 Years’ Visual History of Dry Battery Production”, Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd., Osaka, 1981 (in Japanese).

This book represents a summary of 50 years’ visual history of dry battery production of Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd., containing 177 pages. The table of contents is as follows:

Chapter 1: Taisho12-Showa20 (1923-1945), -Release of cannon-ball shaped battery-powered shell lamps, -Company’s own production of dry batteries, Chapter 2: Showa20-Showa29 (1945-1954), -Postwar wrenching time and construction, Chapter 3: Showa29-Showa38 (1954-1963), -Release of ‘Hyper’ dry battery, Chapter 4: Showa38-Showa44 (1963-1969), -Release of ‘Hi-Top’ dry battery, Chapter 5: Showa44-Showa54 (1969-1979), -Release of ‘Neo Hi-Top’ dry battery, Chapter 6: Showa54-Showa56 (1979-1981), -Establishment of Matsushita Battery Industry Co., Ltd., Appendix: -Progress of battery technologies, -Advance of developing products, -Overseas business: History and present status, -Awards, -Chronology

Appendix 3. Reference [7]: History Editorial Board of Japan Storage Battery, Co., Ltd., ed., “100 Years’ History of Japan Storage Battery”, Japan Storage Battery Co., Ltd., Kyoto, 1995 (in Japanese).

This book describes the details of 100 years’ history in 1895-1995 of Japan Storage Battery, Co., Ltd., containing 392 pages. The table of contents is as follows:

Part 1: Birth Stage (1895-1917), 1. History before foundation, 2. Start of producing storage batteries, Part 2: Start-Up Stage (1917-1931), 1. Foundation of storage battery business, 2. Invention of epoch-making manufacturing methodology, 3. Expansion of civil demand, Part 3: Expansion of Military Demand (1931-1945), 1. Enlargement of Production System, 2. Management under war footing, Part 4: Postwar Reconstruction (1945-1960), 1. Business reconstruction and economic recovery, 2. Strategy for market transition and innovation, Part 5: High-Growth Period (1969-1973), 1. Motorization, 2. New product development, 3. Overseas expansion, 4. Strategy for environmental variation, Part 6: Business Innovation, 1. Aggressive management against oil crisis, 2. Change of automobile market, 3. Challenge for advanced technologies, 4. Strategy for information society, 5. Development of lighting business, 6. Rapid growth of miniature batteries, 7. Development of new business fields, 8. Improvement of management culture, 9. Enhancement of globalization, 10. Toward the 21st Century, Part 7: Information Materials, Part 8: Chronology

Appendix 4. Reference [9]: Editorial Board of 75 Years’ Company History, ed., “75 Years’ History of Yuasa”, Yuasa Storage Battery Co., Ltd., Osaka, 1993 (in Japanese).

This book describes the details of 75 years’ history in 1918-1993 of Yuasa Storage Battery, Co., Ltd., containing 315 pages. The table of contents is as follows:

Chapter 1: From company foundation to the end of War., Chapter 2: Postwar devastation and reconstruction, Chapter 3: Motorization and its induced rapid growth, Chapter 4: Strategy for international era, Chapter 5: From high growth to low growth, Chapter 6: Stepping stone to electronics era, Chapter 7: Challenge for the 21st Century, Episodes and Information Materials, Documents and Chronology

Appendix 5. Reference [10]: History Editorial Board of National Storage Battery Co., Ltd., ed., “50 Years of National Storage Battery”, National Storage Battery Co., Ltd., Osaka, 1985 (in Japanese).

This book summarizes 50 years’ history in 1935-1985 of National Storage Battery, Co., Ltd., containing 134 pages. The table of contents is as follows:

Part 1: Preliminaries, Part 2: 50 Years’ History of National Storage Battery, -Era of Foundation and Start-Up; The Showa10’s, -Era of Hardship and Reconstruction; The Showa20’s, -Era of Construction and Expansion; The Showa30’s, -Era of Growth and Jump; The Showa40’s, -Era of Creation and Reversion; The Showa50’s, Part 3: Changes of Factory Layouts, Part 4: Development of New Products and Technological Activities, -Start from Zero; The Showa10’s, -Development of Products toward Versatility; The Showa20’s, -Birth of Alkaline Batteries and Enhancement of Mass Production; The Showa30’s, -Rush of New Technologies and New Products; The Showa40’s, -Demand Expansion and Applied Equipment; The Showa50’s, -Representative Products at Present, -Series of New Products, Part 5: 50 Years’ Marketing Activities, -Pre- and Post-War Marketing; The Showa10’s, -Marketing for Untapped Niche; The Showa20’s, -Improvement of Marketing System; The Showa30’s, -Enhancement of Marketing Strategy; The Showa40’s, -Leap for Tomorrow; The Showa50’s, Part 6: Toward New Future, Chronology

Appendix 6. Reference [12]: H. Ogawa, “Recent trend of battery technology”, National Technological Report, vol. 27, no. 6, pp. 780-798, Dec. 1981 (in Japanese).

This report surveys the trends in primary and secondary battery technologies which were developed to solve electronics and energy issues arising in the practice. The table of contents is as follows.

1. Preface, 2. Primary Batteries, 2.1 Carbon-Zinc Dry Battery, 2.2 Alkaline Manganese Battery, 2.3 Silver Oxide Battery, 2.4 Mercury Battery, 2.5 Nickel-Zinc Battery, 2.6 Zinc-Air Battery, 2.7 Lithium Battery, 3. Secondary Batteries, 3.1 Normal Temperature Operation Type, 3.1.1 Lead-Acid Battery, 3.1.2 Nickel-Cadmium Battery, 3.1.3 Nickel-Iron Battery, 3.1.4 Nickel-Zinc Battery, 3.1.5 Zinc-Chlorine Battery, 3.1.6 Zinc-Bromine Battery, 3.1.7 Redox Flow Battery, 3.2 High Temperature Operation Type, 3.2.1 Sodium-Sulfur Battery, 3.2.2 Lithium-Iron Sulfide Battery, 4. Fuel Cells, 4.1 Normal Temperature Operation Type, 4.1.1 Hydrogen-Oxygen Fuel Cell, 4.1.2 Liquid Fuel Cell, 4.2 Moderate High Temperature Operation Type, 4.2.1 Phosphoric Acid Electrolyte Fuel Cell, 4.2.2 Molten Salt Electrolyte Fuel Cell, 4.2.3 Solid Electrolyte Fuel Cell, 5. Conclusion, References

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