Founded in 1899 as a joint venture with Western Electric, called Japan Electric Co., Ltd.
July 17, 1899 (Meiji 32)
NEC (Nippon Electric Company) was established on July 17, 1899 (Meiji 32), the day the treaty revision allowing direct foreign investment took effect, as the first foreign-affiliated company.
People at the time of founding (1909)
Succeeded in domestic production of the No.1 large common battery-type outdoor exchange, delivered to Tokyo Central Office.
Completed the 9th and 11th factories, finishing the factory construction plan since founding.
Half of the factory was destroyed in the Kanto Earthquake, with 105 casualties.
Founded the PR and technical magazine "Nippon Denki Monthly".
Delivered the first domestically produced A-type private automatic exchange to Mitsukoshi Kimono Store.
Completed the NEC-type photographic telegraph device (the first domestically produced), successfully transmitted photographs at the enthronement ceremony of Emperor Showa.
In November 1928, during the Showa Emperor's enthronement ceremony, newspapers competed to quickly publish photos of the event using overseas photo transmission devices, which initially failed in experiments. The adoption of the newly developed Niwa-Kobayashi photo transmission device led to a major success and Japan's first practical implementation.
Succeeded in domestic production of the A-type automatic exchange for exchanges.
Succeeded in in-house production of radio broadcasting equipment, delivered to Okayama Broadcasting Station.
Established Tamagawa-mukai Factory.
Prototyped domestically produced television, successfully demonstrated at Hankyu Department Store in Osaka the following year.
In January of the 40th year, exhibited as the NEC-type television device at the "Century of Science Exhibition" hosted by Osaka Mainichi Newspaper at Hankyu Department Store in Osaka.
Changed company name to Sumitomo Communications Industry Co., Ltd.
Separated the Radio Business Division and established New Japan Electric.
Established Nippon Electric New York (later NEC America).
Established Kagoshima Nippon Electric, subsequently establishing "regional branch companies" across various locations.
Established Nippon Electric Software, subsequently establishing "branch software companies" across various locations.
The first large-scale comprehensive telecommunications exhibition in the United States, "Intercom 77," was held in Atlanta, USA.
"C&C First Year Declaration" First full-page New Year's Day advertisement in Asahi Shimbun.
Launched personal computer "PC-8001".
Established NEC Electronics (UK) and NEC Semiconductors (UK).
Launched the new family of office computers, "NEC System Series."
Established Abiko Business Site.
Construction of a new headquarters building was considered.
Construction of the new headquarters building began.
NEC Super Tower was completed.
Shipped the foldable mobile phone "Mova N" with a product volume of 150cc.
Launched the world's first TFT color LCD notebook computer "PC-9801NC."
Discovered carbon nanotubes and predicted their new physical properties.
Announced "Solution21" and fully launched SI business responding to the client-server era.
Launched the open-type new server "Express5800 Series."
Developed the world's first 1G-bit DRAM.
The semiconductor business group was selected as the only company for the first "Japan Management Quality Award."
Established NEC Hitachi Memory Co., Ltd. through joint investment with Hitachi, Ltd.
NEC Home Electronics Co., Ltd. ceased business activities.
Launched the first FOMA terminal "FOMA N2001."
Completed the world's fastest supercomputer, the ultra-high-speed vector parallel computer "Earth Simulator."
Launched facial recognition solution "NeoFace".
Established NEC Electronics Corporation.
Developed bio-plastics with added kenaf fibers.
Built CiRCUS, the world's largest mission-critical system, for i-mode gateway system.
Commercialized the world's smallest and thinnest mobile phone with a card-type camera using ultra-thin mounting technology.
Completed Tamagawa Renaissance City.
Spun off "BIGLOBE" as NEC Biglobe Corporation.
Achieved the world's top share in the ultra-compact microwave communication system "Pasolink".
Announced NEC Group Vision & Values.
Established NEC Casio Mobile Communications Corporation.
In December 2009, NEC's facial recognition technology achieved the world's No.1 ranking in the biometric technology benchmark test for still face images conducted by the U.S. National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
NEC Electronics merged with Renesas Technology to form Renesas Electronics Corporation.
The asteroid probe "Hayabusa" returned to Earth.
Started mass production of high-performance lithium-ion secondary batteries for automobiles.
Launched the world's first "OpenFlow" compatible product, "UNIVERGE PF series".
Established NEC Personal Computer Corporation through a joint venture with Lenovo.
Started sales of home energy storage systems.
Announced a focus on "Social Solution Business".
Partnership with Interpol on cybersecurity measures
Announcement of social solution business message "Orchestrating a brighter world"
Contributed to the start of operation of the My Number system
Formulated the AI (artificial intelligence) technology brand "NEC the WISE" and began global deployment
Established November 18 as "Compliance Day"
Unveiled biometric authentication brand "Bio-IDiom"
Acquired UK IT service company Northgate Public Services
Acquired Denmark's largest IT company KMD
NEC fully entered drug discovery business utilizing the latest AI
Revised NEC Group's management philosophy "NEC Way"
Capital and business alliance with NTT for joint research and development of ICT products utilizing innovative optical and wireless technology, aiming for global expansion
Contributed to the achievement of the "Hayabusa2" mission
Acquired Swiss major financial software company Avaloq
President Morita's appointment
Declaration of NEC 2030 VISION
Contributed to safe and secure operation of Tokyo 2020 Olympics and Paralympics
Mr. Hitoshi Imaoka of NEC received the Spring Reiwa 5th Award "Purple Ribbon Award"
Integrated Aviat and wireless backhaul business
Transition to a company with a nominating committee etc.
Developed and launched generative AI "cotomi" for the Japanese market
NTT Docomo and NEC established a joint venture company "OREX SAI" to provide "OREX Packages" globally
Launch of the value creation model "BluStellar" to guide customers into the future
125th Anniversary of NEC's Founding
Implemented facial recognition systems for store payment and entrance management at Osaka-Kansai Expo, ensuring safe, secure, and efficient operation
Established "NESIC Holdings" to strengthen support for DX in local governments and mid-sized companies
Launching next-generation cyber security service "CyIOC" under the slogan "Protecting .JP (Japan's Cyberspace)"
From October 19 to 25, 2026, NEC will run ads featuring “Protect .JP” as the key message at Kasumigaseki Station, Tokyo Station, and 16 Tokyo Metro stations. The ads will express NEC’s determination to protect Japan’s cyberspace and communicate its mission to contribute to ensuring the security of digital infrastructure.
The "2026 K-SEC CAMP FOR GIRLS" co-hosted by NEC and the KOSEN Cybersecurity Education Promotion Center was held on September 17-18. The event featured a tour of NEC's headquarters reference office, career talks with female engineers, and workshops using CTF. It aims to foster a community among female technical college students and enhance their security skills.
NEC Corporation has established the CyIOC Expert Certification Program to enhance the value of its next-generation cybersecurity service, CyIOC. The program certifies personnel with advanced practical experience in SOC operations and threat intelligence analysis, strengthening NEC's ability to make proposals to customers. NEC has offered CyIOC since November 2025, and the service has been highly regarded for its quality.
NEC's CyIOC won the Best Award in the security category of the MM Research Award 2026, and a ceremony was held.
On June 8, 2026, a special lecture was held for graduate students at Akita Prefectural University, explaining the realities of cyber attacks visible from the field of cybersecurity and countermeasure techniques.
NEC provides practical security personnel training programs to cybercrime investigators of the Metropolitan Police Department and Hyogo Prefectural Police, supporting the enhancement of cybercrime response capabilities.
Employees of NEC Corporation gave a lecture on business content and careers at the Technical College Career Lab held at Kisarazu National College of Technology.
NEC provided security exercises that teach both attack and defense perspectives through creating and solving CTF problems, targeting top-level technical college students.
Mr. Shinichi Fuchigami has been appointed as the Supreme Information Security Advisor of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications, leveraging his experience in information security strategy and personnel development at NEC.
NEC will respond to the increasing sophistication of cyberattacks by sequentially providing a security package that comprehensively covers OT and IT areas of semiconductor factories from fiscal year 2026, supporting everything from consulting to operational monitoring.