Teijin Ltd. Teijin commands an approximately 40 percent world market share for polycarbonate used in CD-ROMs and other recording media. This reflects Japan's great strength in the electronic materials field as well as the very high quality level of Japan's polycarbonate output, according to industry executives. Teijin has an annual capacity of 100,000 metric tons. The next largest producer is Mitsubishi Gas Chemical Company Inc., with an annual capacity of about 50,000 metric tons. Japan has been at the forefront of technical innovation with regard to polycarbonate.
Progress continues on improving performance and expanding the range of applications.
Japan's total output of polycarbonate is currently about 275,000 metric tons per years according to industry sources. Slightly more than 152,000 tons of this is for domestic use and the remainder is exported. Domestic demand has been so strong, in fact, that Japanese manufacturers have had difficulty meeting export orders. The other major area of use is architectural applications. Among the newest of these in Japan is simple carports.