Japan Aluminum Co. Kaohsiung Plant (Nippon Aluminium Takao Works)

The Japan Aluminum Co. Kaohsiung Plant (日本アルミニウム株式会社高雄工場) was the first and principal aluminum smelting facility in colonial Taiwan and a critical node in Japan's wartime light-metals supply chain for military aircraft production.

Origins and Establishment

Japan's domestic aluminum smelting industry emerged in the early 1930s from the Three-Company Aluminum Discussion Group (三社アルミニウム協議会), comprising Furukawa Electric (古河電気工業), Tokai Electrode (東海電極), and Taisei Chemical (大成化学). This consortium evolved through the Japan Aluminum Syndicate (日本アルミニウム・シンジケート) into the formally incorporated Nippon Aluminium Co., Ltd. (日本アルミニウム株式会社) in 1935. The company selected Kaohsiung (then Takao/高雄) in southern Taiwan for its principal smelting works, drawn by the abundance of cheap hydroelectric power generated by the recently completed Sun Moon Lake (日月潭) hydroelectric system — the largest power project in colonial Taiwan, which came online in 1934 with a capacity of 100,000 kilowatts.

The Kaohsiung plant was constructed in the Qianzhen (前鎮) district on the eastern shore of Kaohsiung Harbor, adjacent to the port facilities that would receive imported raw materials. A separate plant was also established at Hualien Port (花蓮港) on Taiwan's eastern coast.

Wartime Production

The Kaohsiung plant began producing aluminum ingots in 1936 — in November according to Japanese sources — the year before the Marco Polo Bridge Incident that marked the start of full-scale war with China. Production was centered on smelting alumina derived from bauxite ore imported primarily from the Dutch East Indies (particularly Bintan Island) and other Southeast Asian sources via the Bayer process. The refined aluminum was shipped to aircraft manufacturers in the Japanese home islands, where it was fabricated into airframes, engine components, and other parts for military aircraft including the Mitsubishi A6M Zero fighter.

The aluminum industry was enormously power-intensive — earning aluminum the nickname 'the canned electricity' (電気の缶詰) — and the Kaohsiung and Hualien plants together consumed approximately 60% of all electricity generated in Taiwan. This extraordinary energy demand made the Sun Moon Lake hydroelectric system indispensable to the operation.

At its wartime peak, the plant was among the most important aluminum production facilities in the Japanese Empire outside the home islands. Production capacity was approximately 6,000 tons of aluminum ingots per year at the time of establishment, though wartime expansion efforts sought to increase output to meet the insatiable demand for aircraft aluminum.

Allied Bombing and Destruction

As the Pacific War turned against Japan, Allied strategic bombing campaigns increasingly targeted Taiwan's industrial infrastructure. Beginning with the Formosa Air Battle (台湾沖航空戦) in October 1944, when US Navy carrier-based aircraft struck Kaohsiung Harbor and surrounding facilities, the aluminum plant became a priority target. The USAAF's sustained bombing campaign against Taiwanese industrial facilities intensified through 1945, with the Fifth Air Force conducting systematic raids.

The plant suffered devastating damage: approximately 40% of buildings were destroyed and one-third of all machinery was rendered inoperable. Compounding the direct bomb damage, the US submarine blockade severed bauxite supply lines from Southeast Asia, while bombing of the Sun Moon Lake power facilities disrupted the electricity supply essential for the energy-intensive smelting process. By late 1944 the plant had effectively ceased operations, unable to obtain either raw materials or power.

Postwar Transition

After Japan's surrender in August 1945, the Republic of China's National Resources Commission (資源委員會) took control of the facility, recognizing its strategic value as China had never possessed an aluminum smelting capability. The Hualien plant was closed, and the Kaohsiung facility became the sole basis for the newly established Taiwan Aluminum Corporation (台灣鋁業有限公司). Lacking domestic expertise in aluminum smelting, the ROC government sought technical cooperation with the Aluminum Company of Canada (Alcan). Repairs were completed and the plant resumed operations on 12 December 1947.

Taiwan Aluminum Corporation continued operating the facility through the postwar decades. In February 1985, China Steel Corporation (中國鋼鐵) took over Taiwan Aluminum's rolling and casting operations, and in January 1996 established CSC Aluminum Co., Ltd. (中鋼鋁業) as a subsidiary.

Legacy and Current Status

The original factory site at No. 8, Zhongqin Road (忠勤路8號), Qianzhen District, Kaohsiung, has been transformed into the MLD台鋁生活商場 (Metropolitan Living Development), a large commercial complex that opened on 2 July 2015. The renovation preserved the distinctive Y-shaped steel beam structure from a 1970s-era factory expansion, maintaining a tangible connection to the site's industrial heritage. The old Japanese-era aluminum company employee dormitories (日鋁員工宿舍) were located along Chenggong Road (成功路) nearby.

The site stands as a testament to Taiwan's wartime role in Japan's military-industrial complex and the island's transformation from a colonial industrial outpost to a modern economy. Together with the nearby 6th Naval Fuel Arsenal at Zuoying and other industrial facilities around Kaohsiung Harbor, the aluminum plant was part of the dense concentration of strategic war industries that made Kaohsiung one of the most heavily bombed cities in colonial Taiwan.