Tokyo Shibaura Electric (Toshiba) Horikawa-cho Plant

The Tokyo Shibaura Electric Horikawa-cho Plant traces its origins to 1908, when Tokyo Electric Company (東京電気株式会社) established the Kawasaki Factory in Miyuki Village (御幸村), Tachibana District, Kanagawa Prefecture. The factory initially focused on manufacturing tungsten filament incandescent lamps, a cutting-edge product at the time. The location was strategically chosen within what would become the Keihin Industrial Zone, Japan's largest continuous industrial belt stretching from Tokyo through Kawasaki to Yokohama.

Following the 1939 merger of Tokyo Electric and Shibaura Engineering Works to form Tokyo Shibaura Electric (東京芝浦電気, later shortened to Toshiba), the Kawasaki plant expanded dramatically to meet wartime demands. During the Pacific War, the factory shifted to military production, manufacturing vacuum tubes essential for military communications, wireless radio equipment for the Imperial Japanese Army and Navy, and components for radar systems. Toshiba was among the electronics manufacturers that supplied Japan's military radar programmes. The plant was part of a broader network of Keihin Industrial Zone factories that formed the backbone of Japan's war production capacity.

On April 15, 1945, over 200 B-29 Superfortress bombers attacked Kawasaki in one of the most devastating air raids of the Pacific War. The raid dropped approximately 1,110 tons of incendiary and high-explosive bombs, destroying or damaging over 33,000 houses and 287 factories across the city. The Horikawa-cho area, densely packed with industrial facilities, suffered catastrophic damage. The Toshiba plant's production capacity was severely reduced in the final months of the war.

After Japan's surrender, the plant was rebuilt and pivoted to civilian electronics manufacturing. It became a pioneering facility for cathode ray tube (CRT) production — earning recognition as the "Birthplace of Toshiba CRT" — and later expanded into semiconductor manufacturing. The factory was renamed the Horikawa-cho Factory in 1945, then the Kawasaki Business Site in 1998.

Production ceased in September 1999 and the factory officially closed in 2000, ending 92 years of continuous operation. The site was redeveloped through a joint venture with Mitsui Fudosan into Lazona Kawasaki, a major commercial complex that opened in 2006. The adjacent Lazona Kawasaki Toshiba Building (completed 2013) houses Toshiba's headquarters. Several monuments remain on the grounds, including the original factory gate signage and a monument commemorating the birthplace of Toshiba CRT technology.