Asahi Kasei, a large Japanese chemical engineering company, confirmed on Thursday that a former employee was arrested by Aichi Prefecture police for allegedly leaking business secrets related to semiconductor manufacturing to a Chinese company, Shandong Shengquan New Materials Co., Ltd.
The arrested individual, 66-year-old Shoichi Furukawa, resides in Fuji City, Shizuoka Prefecture. He was taken into custody on suspicion of violating Japan’s Unfair Competition Prevention Act and unlawfully disclosing commercial secrets. The police have not yet disclosed whether Furukawa has admitted to the charges.
Furukawa is accused of failing to return digital storage devices containing production data to Asahi Kasei around November 2018 before leaving the company. Subsequently, in September 2024, he allegedly sent this data via email to individuals at another company.
The technology involved in the case is related to Asahi Kasei’s Novacure latent curing agent product. Latent curing agents are used in adhesives related to semiconductor manufacturing and are also employed in some automotive components. The production data in question was classified as a business secret by Asahi Kasei.
In a statement, Asahi Kasei stated that while still employed at the company, Furukawa took confidential information related to the latent curing agent and disclosed it to a Chinese company after his resignation. Following an internal investigation, the recipient was identified as Shandong Shengquan New Materials Co., Ltd.
According to Aichi Prefecture police records, Furukawa previously held roles such as head of the manufacturing technology department at Asahi Kasei before leaving at the end of November 2018. During his tenure, he was also responsible for factory management and electronic material development, as confirmed by Asahi Kasei.
After departing Asahi Kasei, Furukawa worked at several chemical manufacturing companies in Nagoya. In August 2024, a company he was employed at reported another incident of business secret leaks involving Furukawa to Aichi Prefecture police.
In April 2025, police conducted a search of Furukawa’s residence and seized devices like phones and computers. Upon analysis, it was discovered that he had taken confidential documents from Asahi Kasei.
Asahi Kasei mentioned in their Thursday statement that the police investigation is ongoing, preventing the company from disclosing further details but assuring their full cooperation with law enforcement.
To safeguard their business secrets, Asahi Kasei plans to initiate civil proceedings against Furukawa and Shandong Shengquan, seeking injunctions against the use of the data, destruction of sensitive information, and other legal remedies.
After investigation and confirmation, Asahi Kasei stated that the leaked confidential information in this case does not involve any technical documents obtained from business partners and does not pertain to personal information.