Reiwa Chemist Yōko Takatsukasa Reincarnation: Saving Japan with Plastic Material

Mixing Jade and Stones

"Sakano-san, I managed to fix the knitting machine Number 7 that was in need of repair for now, but the screws won't fit, so I can't assemble it."

"What's going on, Michio? Show me for a moment... You're using Imperial, aren't you!?"

The sales of Teijin stockings continued to thrive even after the Russo-Japanese War. Consequently, various production facilities operating at full capacity experienced frequent breakdowns. While this unexpected benefit of accumulating mechanical engineering expertise within Teijin through repairs existed, the personnel on the ground simply found it annoying, and the management team, including Yōko, was troubled. The biggest problem was difficulty in repair and modification due to inconsistent standards.

In order to handle a large number of backorders, Teijin had ordered production equipment such as knitting machines from factories all over Japan. Although they standardized the design of the knitting machines themselves, the quality varied from unit to unit, with variations in the precision of parts' dimensions and the use of both Imperial and Metric screws of the same size, a nightmare situation for modern manufacturing professionals.

"Unbelievable..."

"Accepting such scams is what defines the current state of the Japanese industrial sector."

Upon receiving the report, Yōko was distressed, and Naokichi Kaneko was brimming with quiet anger. For Yōko, a modern person, having things made exactly as per the drawings was a matter of course.

"If there is some kind of common agreement in the entire industry, it might make a difference."

"A common agreement...? That's it, Kaneko-san! Let's appeal directly to the government for the establishment of something like an industrial standard for Japan!"

Thus, using the power of Suzuki Shōten, which had now become a major conglomerate, they worked on other conglomerates like Mitsubishi, Mitsui, and Sumitomo to appeal directly to the government for the establishment of industrial standards. Seeing this as a favorable opportunity, the Army and Navy also joined in. As a result, in 1906, more than 50 years earlier than in reality, the Japan Industrial Standards Committee (JISC) was established, and Japan embarked on the development of industrial standards. However, it took many years from there for the standards to be established and for factories across the country to comply with them. Michio Suzuki, who had been repairing knitting machines at the beginning, later reflected, "Did things get easier after JIS was established? Well, it really changed slowly and gradually, so I couldn't tell at the time. One day, I thought, 'Come to think of it, we haven't had trouble assembling parts lately.' That's when I finally realized that Japanese industrial products had become reliable."

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Michio Suzuki founded Suzuki Loom Works in 1909, but in this world's Japan, due to the increased demand for knitting machines, he transitioned from being a carpenter earlier than in OTL. Of course, the reason for bringing him here is to have him participate in the production of that knitting machine. It will be quite some time before that happens.

- Toshitsugu Utei