爱知味素（Ajinomoto）的ABF材料控制着超过95%的市场份额，自年初以来股价上涨了65%，约为日本基准日经指数涨幅的三倍。东陶（Toto）则在半导体链条中找到了新利润来源，其先进陶瓷业务的营业利润已占总利润的一半以上。

日本AI受益者中还有许多低调企业：豪雅（Hoya）供应光掩膜基板，樱花（Sakura）用检测技术发现芯片制造缺陷，Nittobo则是超薄“T-glass”的唯一供应商。它们的共同点是，均在材料或工具等细分环节占据关键位置。

两大因素解释了这种格局：历史上，日本在20世纪80年代曾占全球芯片产量的一半以上，1989年全球十大芯片企业中有6家是日本公司；文化上，日本企业倾向于长期持续研发而不轻易放弃，因此在需求真正爆发时更有准备。

Ajinomoto’s ABF material controls more than 95% of the market, and its share price has risen 65% since the start of the year, about three times the gain in Japan’s benchmark Nikkei index. Toto has also found a new profit center in the semiconductor chain, with advanced ceramics now contributing more than half of operating profit.

Other understated Japanese beneficiaries of the AI boom include Hoya, which supplies photomask blanks, Sakura, which uses defect-detection technology in chip manufacturing, and Nittobo, the sole supplier of ultra-thin T-glass. Their common strength is a dominant position in niche links such as materials and tools.

Two factors explain this pattern: historically, Japan produced more than half of global semiconductors in the 1980s, and six of the world’s ten biggest chip firms in 1989 were Japanese; culturally, Japanese companies tend to keep developing technology over long periods rather than abandon it. As a result, they are often better prepared when demand finally surges.

Source: The strange Japanese companies minting money from AI

Subtitle: What the creator of MSG and the world’s biggest toilet-maker have in commo

Dateline: 5月 14, 2026 11:25 上午 | Tokyo