Arisawa Heavy Industries

Arisawa Heavy Industries was founded in 1946 as “Arisawa Industries” by business entrepreneur Takafumi Arisawa. As this was soon after the end of World War 2, Arisawa Industries was in the business of civilian manufacturing and infrastructure. In the immediate aftermath of the war, Arisawa Industries aided with reconstruction efforts of major Japanese cities.

As reconstruction efforts finished, Arisawa began with modernization of Japan’s buildings and infrastructure in the 60s, and the business started to see rapid growth. Per the family records, Takafumi died of cancer in the months prior to the end of the Vietnam War, leaving behind three children. The eldest son, Kenta, took charge of the company, per his father’s Last Will. As this was still near the height of Cold War tensions, it was Kenta that made the decision to transition Arisawa Industries from industrial construction over to a military manufacturing venture in cooperation with the United States. Contracts and investments began flooding in, and Arisawa started making record profits.

However, Arisawa Industries became the target of anti-militarism protests, resulting in the assassination of Kenta and his children in Kyoto in 1982 while on a business trip, leaving Arisawa Industries in the hands of the youngest sister, Asuka. Asuka had good, if conservative, fiscal sense, pulling out of international dealings to maintain good domestic public relations, returning Arisawa Industries to the business of civilian manufacturing and infrastructure - indeed, while Arisawa didn’t lose much in terms of revenue, it didn’t make any significant strides, either.

However, with the discovery of other realms in 1983 and the increased public awareness of Superhumans in 1985, public pressure on Arisawa Industries eased, and more concern on the probable threat that superhumans could pose increased. As a result, looking over construction plans left by her late brother, Asuka okayed the construction of the XT-01 Power Armor Frame.

It made for a decent proof-of-concept model and, when combined with cooperation with United States defense contractors, gave rise to the Type-1 Power Armor. Over the years, the armor had been worked on and improved. As of 2029, there were 24 models of Power Armor produced, with half still in active production on the market.

Asuka had survived an attempt by a Meta-human to assassinate her in 1997, but the powers of the same had rendered her in a persistent vegetative state. As she was unable to operate as CEO of Arisawa Industries, nor had any children old enough to assume the position, the board of directors reluctantly entrusted the position of CEO to Gai Arisawa, the middle child and only one who had the Meta Gene.

With his considerable return on business investments in the West investments, Gai took a more hands-on approach to improving the Power Armor line, relying as much on in-house assets as he did on inter-corporate agreements, as well as several unorthodox business practices. Research and development sped up, and units garnered contract after contract for improvements, with the Arisawa Type-20 Power Armor in circulation through Southeast Asia by the time of the New York Assault.

By this time, Arisawa - now renamed Arisawa Heavy Industries - had taken a minor interest in developing energy-based weaponry, though the primary products remain various types of Power Armor. The latest in the line - the Type-24 - is acknowledged as an equalizer by the various police prefectures in Japan.

Asuka Arisawa never recovered from her persistent vegetative state, and passed away in 2028. Now permanently CEO of Arisawa Heavy Industries, Gai made the request that her body be cremated, per wishes she expressed to him in their youth.

To date, Gai Arisawa is the only CEO to see active combat.

Arisawa Heavy Industries is primarily a military construction firm, and as such, employs some of the best and brightest engineers in the world. Each researcher had been hand-picked and properly vetted from the top 5% of the universities from which they graduated. From research down to the men working the assembly line, the employees who work in the companies are paid fairly, on time, and enjoy benefits few other corporations in Japan offer.

While not a private military company in either law or function, Arisawa Heavy Industries boasts a formidable corporate security branch that’s been known to recruit from counterterrorism units and specialized police units. A surprising number of security officers are veterans of the Tokushu Kyūshū Butai (translated in English as “Special Assault Team”).

While not widely known, Arisawa Heavy Industries occasionally supplies vigilante and militia groups, and is believed to hold contracts with a few Western organizations. It’s rare for this corporation to do business with European nations, but the occasional batch of Power Armor has been bought by a few of the smaller nations within the Balkans.

Arisawa Heavy Industries is headquartered in Yokohama, Japan. The headquarters is the heart of Arisawa’s Research and Development division as well as the distribution chain. Arisawa has several branches located in South Korea, Australia, Indonesia, and Hawaii.