OUR GLOBAL CHALLENGES Raiteku Co., Ltd.
Raiteku handles the entire process of development, manufacture and sale of fences and nets designed to reduce damage from natural disasters such as landslides and falling rocks.
Guided by the founder's vision and the next generation’s management skills, its disaster mitigation products are gaining traction globally as effective solutions.
（left）
Representative Director and Chairman
Raiteku Co., Ltd.
HOSOKAWA Yutaka
Graduated from Ishikawa Prefectural Komatsu Technical High School. Following research at Kanazawa University's structural mechanics laboratory, he worked at a road hazard mitigation manufacturer. Founding Raiteku in 1998, he later established group companies to cover all aspects of hazard mitigation products: development, design, manufacturing, sales and construction. As chairman, and president of several group companies, he continues to travel regularly around Japan and overseas.
（right）
Representative Director and President
Raiteku Co., Ltd.
NAKASHIMA Eriko
Graduated from the University of Toyama. After working at a regional bank, she joined Raiteku in 2008, and was appointed the company’s representative director and president in April 2024. She visits domestic and overseas operations sites with the chairman to move ahead with expansion and preparations to take over running the business.
The heart of the company is its technological expertise
Japan is a disaster-prone country, but the frequency and scale of these disasters have been increasing due to climate change. Constantly striving to protect people's lives from these intensifying risks, Raiteku and its group companies handle the entire process of hazard mitigation products, from development to manufacture and sales.
Its core products include fences, nets, and large sandbags that prevent damage from landslides, rockfalls, and avalanches. The company is a team of experts comprising highly experienced, qualified engineers, including seven with doctorates in disaster mitigation. Using its outstanding technological capabilities, the company has developed products with high functionality and durability. These products have been certified as new technologies by the government following performance verification in collaboration with universities.
Recently, in addition to landslide and tsunami measures to counter a massive earthquake expected to occur along the Nankai Trough off Japan’s Pacific coast, the company has been working on the development and upgrading of Ministry of Defense-related disaster mitigation products. It is also developing products to prevent damage from rockfall in the areas that were struck by the Noto Peninsula earthquake on January 1, 2024.
“Our technological capabilities are the heart of the company,” says HOSOKAWA Yutaka, representative director and chairman. “Our goal is to produce high-quality products suited to the times and regions we serve, using our specialized technologies and experience. Along with performance, we always prioritize speed, cost-effectiveness, and ease of installation—creating products that sell.” After conducting rockfall-related research at Kanazawa University, and working for a road hazard mitigation manufacturer, HOSOKAWA founded Raiteku in 1998 at the age of 45, “to bring my ideas to life.”
He first sought investment and cooperation from companies around Japan, launching two hazard mitigation-related industry associations by highlighting their potential, and laying the groundwork for business. At the same time, he opened branch offices nationwide from Hokkaido to Okinawa, and established group companies responsible for manufacturing, sales, and construction. This created an end-to-end integrated system.
Project feasibility is explored through detailed talks with the relevant Vietnamese government authorities.
Expanding its network into Asia
Recent years have seen the company focusing on overseas expansion. Since its founding, HOSOKAWA envisioned having “Japanese hazard mitigation products serve the world.” That expansion has been guided by geographical similarities and proximity to Japan.
“I believe that both Taiwan and Vietnam are pro-Japan. The people of both countries have a strong sense of camaraderie, making it important to build family-like ties,” says HOSOKAWA Yutaka, Raiteku’s Representative Director and President.
A local subsidiary was established in Taiwan in 2012, with product developments underway in collaboration with National Taiwan University. There are also plans to conduct joint research with a local civil engineering society. The Hualien earthquake that struck eastern Taiwan in April 2024 is expected to lead to orders for rockfall mitigation products. It established a group manufacturing plant in Kaohsiung City in southern Taiwan in October that year as part of ongoing expansion of its operations.
In 2020, it also opened an operations base in Vietnam. In addition to manufacturing aluminum hazard mitigation products for export to Japan, the company is looking to expand manufacturing and sales within Vietnam. A local trial installation is already scheduled, with JBIC’s loans supporting this effort.
Like Japan, Taiwan is prone to earthquakes, and rockfall risk measures are crucial in infrastructure development (the two photos show construction work for the Hsieh-ho Power Plant in Taiwan).
Breaking barriers, leveraging talent
NAKASHIMA Eriko, eldest daughter of the chairman, became representative director and president in April 2024. “With damage from natural disasters increasing around the globe, I believe our products can help save lives,” she says determinedly. “Looking ahead to the next 10 to 20 years, I intend to expand our overseas business.”
A key concept in Raiteku’s overseas expansion is “breaking barriers.” Managerial positions in Taiwan and Vietnam, along with most posts, are filled by local personnel. Local hires study hazard mitigation in Japan for several years and then either apply their expertise at the local subsidiaries or continue working at the company in Japan. “Both Taiwan and Vietnam have a wealth of talent, which we are thankful for amid Japan’s ongoing labor shortage,” says NAKASHIMA.
“We wish to especially focus on supporting Ishikawa Prefecture, which suffered damage from the Noto Peninsula Earthquake, as it is also located right next to our prefecture,” says NAKASHIMA Eriko, Raiteku’s Representative Director and President.
The top managers at the company’s three operations sites are all women, including NAKASHIMA in Japan. “In Japan, the construction industry is a male-dominated world, but overseas, you see many women managing businesses. I hope we can change the image of the industry in Japan.” This inclusive, barrier-free organizational structure, along with shared technical excellence is leading to accomplishments that transcend national borders.
HOSOKAWA also prioritizes swift decision-making and action. “I hear overseas companies saying, ‘Japanese companies never send their top executives.’ I always visit myself and make decisions on the spot. That sense of urgency is vital.”
His drive has been instrumental in driving its rapid growth since he founded the company 27 years ago. Witnessing this firsthand has been his daughter NAKASHIMA: “His managerial agility is remarkable. These are big boots for me to fill.” But with her background in finance, she declares, “From a managerial perspective, I want to work together with our very experienced and outstanding employees to build this company.”
The Made-in-Japan technology refined by this team of hazard mitigation experts is set to take its global presence to the next level.
With its mountainous terrain and steep slopes, Vietnam is at high risk of sediment-related disasters and rockfall, especially the earthquake and typhoon-prone northern and central regions (the photo shows inspection of a site in northern Yen Bai Province).
Raiteku Co., Ltd.
| 1998 | Raiteku Limited founded |
|---|---|
| 2005 | Company name changed to Raiteku Co., Ltd. |
| 2012 | Local subsidiary established in Taipei, Taiwan |
| 2018 | R&T Group Co., Ltd. established Group company integration |
| 2020 | Joint venture established in Hanoi, Vietnam, with affiliate, Toesu Co., Ltd. |
| 2024 | Group manufacturing plant established in Kaohsiung, Taiwan |
In May 2025, a loan agreement was signed with Hokuriku Bank for USD245,000 (JBIC portion). This funds the marketing of hazard mitigation supplies by RT Vietnam Joint Stock Company, the Vietnamese subsidiary of Raiteku Co., Ltd. and its affiliate, Toesu Co., Ltd. Through this loan, JBIC contributes toward maintaining and improving the international competitiveness of Japanese industry.
