Kowa Company, Ltd. (Japanese:興和株式会社) is a Japanese specializedtrading company andmanufacturer. Its headquarters are located inNagoya, the capital of Japan'sAichi prefecture.[1]
Kowa Company is the core of the umbrella Kowa Group.[2] Other companies within the group include Kowa's sibling firmKowabo Company, Ltd. [ja][3] and the consolidated subsidiaryKowa Pharmaceutical Company, Ltd. [ja].[4] Its predecessor, Hattori Kensaburo Shoten, notably supported the industrialistSakichi Toyoda's development of his automaticloom.[5] The business is divided into trading and manufacturing divisions. The trading company division trades in fibers, machines, building materials, watercraft, mineral resources, chemical materials, and everyday goods. Meanwhile, the manufacturing division produces medicine, medical equipment, optical instruments, and energy-saving products.
Marketing of Kowa medical products under such brand names as Colgen Kowa and Cabagin Kowa[6] via nationwide TV commercials increased the company's brand recognition. The company also manufactures and sells Prominar-brand camera lenses,spotting scopes, and video equipment that is used byNHK and various commercial TV and radio stations.[7][8]
Kowa is the largest shareholder in bothBull-Dog Sauce Co. [ja] andMeito Sangyo Co. [ja], with which it sharescross ownership. The company also owned the now-defunct radio stationRADIO-i.[9]
Kowa's mascot is a frog often referred to as Kero-chan.[10] In 2020, Kowa acquired thenaming rights for a Nagoya baseball stadium, now known as theVantelin Dome Nagoya, after one of its pharmaceutical products.[11]
Kowa Co., Ltd. fully entered the FM radio broadcasting business through Aichi International Broadcasting Co., Ltd. The broadcasting range of the company covers the whole Chubu region.