Company
Milestones
KOKUBU's 300 years of progress are the very history of Japanese dietary life.
KOKUBU's history
General historical events
1712
- Founding of the KOKUBU GROUP CORP.
- The wise Ooka Tadasuke appointed as town magistrate of Edo
1756
- Kanbei Kokubu V labels soy sauce products brewed at the Tsuchiura plant with the logo “Kikkodai,” consisting of a hexagon with a Chinese character meaning “big” at its center
1859
- Kanbei Kokubu VIII starts tea trading
1868
- Meiji Restoration
1880
- Soy sauce brewery closed; wholesaling business starts in a wide variety of foodstuffs
1885
- Kikkodai registered as a trademark
- The cabinet system established (Hirobumi Ito becomes the first prime minister)
1887
- Sales of foodstuffs and canned products start
- Electric lights installed in Tokyo
1888
- Sales of beer start
1894
- The paulownia mark registered as a trademark
- Outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War
1908
- K&K registered as a trademark
1909
- Sales of “AJINOMOTO” start. Sales of “CALPIS” and synthetic alcohol “Rikyu” also start in 1919 and 1926, respectively.
1910
- Publication of industry newsletter, Kokubu Market Report, starts
1917
- Sales of 1.8-liter bottled soy sauce start, using KOKUBU bottles
1923
- Store destroyed in the earthquake; reconstruction work starts immediately; efforts made to supply soy sauce as a daily necessity
- Great Kanto Earthquake
1928
- Yokohama Office established
1931
- The first building (formerly the Nihonbashi headquarters building) was completed
1938
- Osaka Branch Office established
1945
- Sapporo Branch Office established
- End of the Pacific War
1947
- KOKUBU TSUKEMONO CO., LTD., which serves as the basis for KOKUBU GROUP CORP., established
- The Constitution of Japan comes into force
1950
- KOKUBU & Co. and KOKUBU TSUKEMONO CO., LTD. merged to form KOKUBU SHOTEN CO., LTD.
- Outbreak of the Korean War (start of the economic boom due to military procurements)
1957
- Fukuoka Liaison Office established
- Japan’s first nuclear reactor starts operation
1961
- Nagoya Branch Office established
1962
- Sendai Branch Office established
1965
- Computer system introduced (IBM1440)
1967
- Hiroshima Branch Office established
- Japan’s population exceeds 100 million
1971
- Company name changed from KOKUBU SHOTEN CO., LTD. to KOKUBU & CO., LTD.
- The First Long-Term Management Plan starts
- NHK starts broadcasting in color
1975
- Construction of the headquarters building completed
1978
- KOKUBU GROCERS CHAIN (KGC), a convenience store chain, launched
1981
- Own physical distribution of chilled food products starts
1994
- The 3OD (One Order, One Delivery) System constructed as a logistics system for consolidated ordering/delivery operations
1995
- Company-wide e-mail introduced
- Great Hanshin-Awaji Earthquake
1999
- Information system “KOMPASS” launched across the KOKUBU Group
- Basic Act on Food, Agriculture and Rural Areas enacted
2000
- Annual sales figures for KOKUBU & CO., LTD. (excluding Group companies) surpasses one trillion yen
2001
- Confection wholesale business starts toward the goal of constructing a full-line distribution system setup
- 9/11 terrorist attacks
2002
- To celebrate our 290th anniversary, KOKUBU introduces “Heisei no Chomoku,” a new KOKUBU Credo (serving as both an action charter and a behavioral code), and the KOKUBU Group symbol
- The Euro, adopted as single EU currency, goes into circulation
2005
- Capital increased to 3.5 billion yen
- The Yashio Distribution Center, the biggest mother ship-type general-purpose center in the greater Tokyo metropolitan area, starts operation in the city of Yashio, Saitama Prefecture
- The Kyoto Protocol for the prevention of global warming enters into force
2006
- “KMS,” a business and accounting system, installed for business process standardization throughout the KOKUBU Group
2007
- Entered into business tie-ups with pharmaceutical wholesalers Ohki Healthcare Holdings Co., Ltd. and Toho Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd. to bolster the foundation for intermediate distribution in the fields of food products, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and general merchandise
2008
- Entered into a business tie-up with a seafood wholesaler to bolster business in the field of processed seafood
- Collapse of Lehman Brothers
2010
- Established the joint venture San tong Kokubu Trading (Qingdao) Co., Ltd. to undertake logistics and wholesaling business in China
- Entered into a business tie-up with Sojitz Corporation in the field of food distribution in Vietnam
- “K&K Canned Bar Snacks” series launched
2011
- Great East Japan Earthquake
2012
- Incorporated Huong Thuy Manufacture Service Trading Corporation, starting the wholesale business in Vietnam
2013
- Investment in Eurofins QKEN K.K. (formerly QSAI Analysis and Research Center Co., Ltd.), an analytical institution specializing in food
- Incorporated Weifang Sanhui Logistics & Co., Ltd. into the Group, starts the wholesale business in China
- Mount Fuji registered as World Cultural Heritage site
- Japanese food registered as World Intangible Cultural Heritage
2014
- Commenced cold chain logistics business in Myanmar
- KOKUBU TRADING SHANGHAI CO., LTD. established in China
- Consumption tax up to 8%
2015
- Incorporated SHANGHAI MINENI FOODS CO, LTD. in Shanghai, China
- Adoption of the SDGs by the United Nations
2016
- Reorganized the domestic wholesale business into seven area companies, two category companies, and a KOKUBU Group headquarters company
- Company name changed to KOKUBU GROUP CORP.
- Joint venture established with Texchem Restaurant Systems to develop cold chain food logistics business in Malaysia, establishing Kokubu Food Logistics Malaysia Sdn. Bhd.
- Shanghai Welstory Food Co., Ltd established to participate in the cafeteria and restaurant business in China
2017
- New system starts, with Kanbei Kokubu appointed as Representative Director, Chairman, and CEO, and Akira Kokubu appointed as Representative Director, President, and COO
- KOKUBU BUSINESS EXPERT CORP. established
- Incorporated Focal Marketing Sdn. Bhd., starting the wholesale business in Malaysia
- Revised Liquor Tax Act comes into force
2018
- Incorporated Ryukyu Teion Ryutsu Co., Ltd. (formerly Ryuseki Teion Ryutsu), starting cold chain logistics in Okinawa
- Established KOKUBU FRESH LINK CORP Ltd. to strengthen fresh wholesale business
- Established Commonwealth Kokubu Logistics Pte Ltd., starting the logistics business in Singapore
- Heavy rains in Western Japan
- Hokkaido Eastern Iburi Earthquake
2019
- Incorporated wine importer Nouvelles Selections Inc., strengthening the fine wine lineup
- The Kansai General Center is opened and a nationwide triple-temperature zone distribution network is completed
- New emperor enthroned
2020
- Open innovation program “KOKUBU Group Accelerator 2020” implemented
- Issued KOKUBU SDGs Statement Book
- Outbreak of COVID-19
- Liquor Tax Act revision starts
2021
- 11th Long-term Management Plan, “Evolution as a Food Marketing Company: Establishing a Co-Creation Sphere,” starts
- Environment Management Committee launched
- Tokyo Olympics held
2022
- Issued KOKUBU Group Human Rights Policy
- Issued KOKUBU Group Health Declaration
- Russia invades Ukraine
2023
- Certified as a KENKO Investment for Health Outstanding Organization 2023
- Full-scale operation of the mother ship-type center in response to Japan’s “2024 problem” in logistics due to labor reforms
- KOKUBU Group achieves 2 trillion yen in consolidated sales
2025
- KOKUBU Food Create merges with KOKUBU FRESH LINK; name changed to KOKUBU FRESH & FOOD TRANS CORP.
- Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai, Japan held
2026
- 12th Long-Term Management Plan, “A Platformer for the Circulation of Food Value: More Local, Then More Global,” starts