NEC

History

Kunihiko Iwadare and Takeshiro Maeda founded Nippon Electric Limited Partnership on 31 August 1898, using equipment acquired from Miyoshi Electrical Manufacturing Company. Iwadare served as the representative partner, while Maeda managed sales. Walter Tenney Carleton represented Western Electric, which sought a foothold in Japan’s telephone market, and he also oversaw the renovation of the Miyoshi facilities. The partnership was set to become a joint-stock company once a treaty allowed it.

On 17 July 1899, a revised U.S.-Japan treaty took effect, and that same day Nippon Electric Company, Limited was incorporated alongside Western Electric Company, marking Japan’s first joint venture with foreign capital. Iwadare became managing director; Ernest Clement and Carleton were directors; Maeda and Mototeru Fujii were appointed auditors. Iwadare, Maeda, and Carleton jointly handled overall management. The company initially produced, sold, and maintained telephones and switches.

In 1901, construction began on the Mita Plant at Mita Shikokumachi, completed in December 1902. In 1903, Japan’s Ministry of Communications adopted common battery switchboards from NEC, which eliminated the need for permanent magnet generators in subscriber phones; these were first imported but produced locally by 1909. NEC began exporting telephone sets to China in 1904. In 1905, Iwadare visited Western Electric in the U.S. and, upon returning, abolished the subcontracting system, replacing it with direct employment, improved production efficiency, higher salaries with performance incentives, new accounting and cost controls, and the installation of time clocks.

Products

NEC's product range includes the NEC MobilePro handheld computer running Windows CE, the NEC Aspire hybrid small business phone system, and electric vehicle batteries through Automotive Energy Supply Corporation (a joint venture with Nissan and NEC TOKIN). It has produced mobile phones such as the NEC e616, MultiSync monitors and fax devices, digital cinema projectors, and various home electronics including TVs, VCRs, and audio equipment. NEC also manufactured personal computers like the Versa series notebooks, POWERMATE desktops, and Valuestar hybrids, as well as car stereos and keyless entry systems.

In gaming, NEC co-produced the PC Engine (TurboGrafx-16) with Hudson Soft, along with the SuperGrafx, PC Engine GT, PC Engine Duo, and PC-FX. Its PC series include the PC-6000, PC-6600, PC-8000, PC-8800, and PC-9800. NEC developed microprocessors such as the V20 and V25. Defense products include the J/TPS-102 self-propelled ground-based early warning 3D radar for the JASDF, a broadband multipurpose radio system for the JGSDF, and the Advanced Combat Infantry Equipment System for the JSDF, where it is a major subcontractor also involved in the Howa rifle system.

NEC also produces food items like Ren AI Pan, and communication systems such as the Univerge Blue platform and SV9100, SV9300, and SV9500 series. Supercomputers include the SX-1 and SX-2 announced in 1983, followed by the SX-3 in 1989, SX-4 in 1994, SX-5 in 1999, SX-6 in 2002, SX-8 in 2005, SX-8R in 2006, SX-9 in 2007, SX-ACE in 2013, and the SX-Aurora TSUBASA platform in 2017.

Achievements

NEC is credited with discovering single-walled carbon nanotubes, inventing the MUX-scan design for test methodology, and achieving the first solid-state one-qubit rotation gate. In mobile phones, it pioneered color displays, 3G support, dual screens, and camera modules. The company also created a facial recognition system that works through medical masks. Additionally, NEC released the first home video game console to use compact discs.

Sponsorships

NEC was the main sponsor of the Davis Cup until 2002, when BNP Paribas took over. It sponsored the NEC Cup Go tournament from 1982 to 2012 and the NEC Shun-Ei Go tournament for young players from 1986 to 2003. NEC sponsored English football club Everton from 1985 to 1995, ending with Everton's 1995 FA Cup Final triumph. It sponsored the Sauber F1 Team from 2011 to 2014, then Sahara Force India F1 Team from 2015 until its demise in 2018, and its successor Racing Point in 2019. In April 2013, NEC became the umbrella sponsor for PGA Tour Latinoamérica.