Japan

Founded: 1967 as Alps Motorola Company, Ltd.

Founded: 1887 Employees: 14,718 Sales: $4.4 billion (2001) Stock Exchanges: Nikkei NAIC: 215620 Toilet Preparation…

Founded: 1932 Employees: 1,474 Sales: ¥83.84 billion (US$927 million) (1998) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo NAIC: 51211 Motion…

With a ranking among AsiaWeek magazine's top 1000 companies of 1996, Maruzen Co., Limited is one of Japan's largest and…

Stock Index: New York Tokyo Okura & Co., Ltd.

Japan's first modern printing company, Dai Nippon Printing Co., Ltd.

Total Assets: ¥102 trillion (2002) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Sapporo London Ticker Symbol: 8318 NAIC: 522110…

Assets: & yen;25.9 trillion (US$207.23 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Frankfurt It is commonly believed that the…

Total Assets: $92.2 billion (2003) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka NASDAQ Ticker Symbol: MLEA NAIC: 524126 Direct Property…

Total Assets: $18.88 billion (1998) NAIC: 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers Despite severe economic conditions in…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Luxembourg Oki Electric Industry Company's roots are inextricably tangled up with an American…

Seiko Corporation acts as a holding company for subsidiaries that develop and manufacture watches, clocks, camera…

Assets: ¥10.09 trillion (US$70.16 billion) The Meiji Mutual Life Insurance Company, Japan's oldest life insurer, is a…

Taiheiyo Cement Corporation operates as Japan's largest cement manufacturer.

Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) is the largest marine transporter in Japan.

With nearly nine million customers, Tokyo Gas Co., Ltd.

Kao Corporation, often called the Procter & Gamble of Japan, is one of Japan's leaders in personal care products,…

Assets: ¥2.80 trillion (US$19.48 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Kyoto Hiroshima Fukuoka Sapporo…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Kyoto Hiroshima Fukuoka Niigata Sapporo World-renowned for generations as a…

Nintendo Company, Ltd.

Total Assets: ¥43.9 trillion ($365.3 billion, 2003) NAIC: 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers Nippon Life Insurance…

Through its many subsidiaries, Unitika Ltd.

Lion Corporation is Japan's biggest seller of toothpastes and a major producer of other toiletries and consumer items…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Mitsui Mining Company, Limited is one of the oldest components of the vast Mitsui…

Nichimen Corporation, a member of The Sanwa Bank group, is one of Japan's largest general trading companies, known as…

Nippon Oil Corporation is Japan's largest importer and distributor of petroleum products, controlling about 25 percent…

Anritsu Corporation is a leading global producer of test and measurement devices, equipment, and systems.

Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Ltd.

Toshiba Corporation is one of Japan's oldest and largest producers of consumer and industrial electric products.

Osaka Gas Company, Ltd.

Stock Exchange: Tokyo Tobu Railway Co Ltd is one of Japan's leading private railway companies.

Yamaha Corporation, one of Japan's most diversified companies, is the world's largest maker of musical instruments.

One of Japan's leading candy and confectionery manufacturers, Morinaga & Co.

Early 1920s:NEC, IWE, and a division of the Sumitomo group form a joint venture to produce electrical cables, marking…

Toppan Printing Co., Ltd.

Gross Billings: $13.74 billion (1995) SICs: 7311 Advertising Agencies; 4899 Communication Services, Not Elsewhere…

As Japan's largest department store company, Mitsukoshi Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Frankfurt New York Nippon Mining Co., Ltd.

Mizuno Corporation is a world leader in sports equipment manufacturing.

Asahi Glass Company, Ltd.

Hankyu Corporation is one of Japan's largest private railway operators.

Longtime leader of the Japanese beer market, Kirin Brewery Company, Limited in the early 2000s was overtaken by its…

Total Assets: ¥21.9 trillion ($182.9 billion, 2003) NAIC: 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers In order to boost its…

1950s:The company develops the Torys bar chain, which grows into more than 1,500 bars.

Hoshino Gakki Co.

Nisshin Seifun Group Inc., formerly Nisshin Flour Milling Company, operates as a holding company with subsidiaries…

Ajinomoto Co., Inc., the world's first and still-largest producer of monosodium glutamate (MSG), is one of Japan's…

Matsuzakaya Company Ltd.

Idemitsu Kosan Co., Ltd., Japan's second largest oil refiner, is named after its founder, Sazou Idemitsu.

Kobe Steel, Ltd., is Japan's 5th-largest and the world's 15th-largest steelmaker.

The dynamic Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Inc.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Japan, home of the world's largest fishing industry, is also the home of Nippon Suisan…

Paloma Industries Ltd.

NKK Corporation is one of the world's largest steelmakers and Japan's second largest.

Stock Index: Tokyo Seibu Railway Co.

Assets: ¥64.67 trillion (US$487 billion) (1998) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka Paris London Ticker Symbol: SUBJY…

As Japan's second largest pharmaceuticals company, Sankyo Company, Ltd.

ITOCHU Corporation is the third largest of Japan's general trading companies--which are known as sogo shosha-trailing…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Nippon Seiko is one of the world's largest producers of ball bearings.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Daido Steel Co., Ltd.

Japan Pulp and Paper Company Limited (JP&P) is the largest Japanese pulp- and paper-trading company.

Founded in 1916 as a manufacturer of biscuits and caramels, Meiji Seika Kaisha Ltd.

Asahi Denka Kogyo KK (the company uses Asahi Denka Co.

Kikkoman Corporation is the world's largest and most famous producer of soy sauce.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Meiji Milk Products Company, Limited, the company that introduced condensed milk to…

Originally a wholesaler and trader of dyestuffs, Nagase & Co., Ltd.

While Nikon Corporation is well known in the consumer world for its cameras, the Japanese firm also produces film…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Sumitomo Rubber Industries, Ltd., Japan's third-largest automobile tire producer,…

TOTO LTD.

With an estimated four percent of global tire and rubber sales in the early 1990s, The Yokohama Rubber Co., Ltd.

Assets: ¥3.67 trillion (US$25.53 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Luxembourg Paris Mitsui Marine and Fire…

Appearing on everything from automobiles to agricultural goods, the Mitsubishi Corporation's three diamond logo has…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Luxembourg Nippon Sheet Glass Company (NSG) is one of the largest glass-manufacturing…

Teijin Limited is one of the leading Japanese manufacturers of synthetic fibers, with fibers and textiles accounting…

Total Assets: $7.46 billion (2000) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Ticker Symbol: 8319 NAIC: 52211 Commercial Banking Following…

Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha, Ltd.

Kewpie Kabushiki Kaisha (QP Corporation is its English equivalent name), one of Japan's leading food products…

Based in Nagoya, Japan, NGK Insulators Ltd.

Market Value: ¥157.7 billion (US$625.6 million) Stock Index: Osaka Toyko Nagoya The Ohbayashi Corporation is one of the…

Shionogi & Co., Ltd., ranks among Japan's leading developers, producers, and exporters of pharmaceuticals.

Tokyu Department Store Co., Ltd.

1960s:Production of household appliances begins.

Mazda Motor Corporation is the number five Japanese automaker, behind Toyota Motor Corporation; Nissan Motor Co., Ltd.;…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Rengo leads Japan's paper industry in the production of paper containers.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Luxembourg Sumitomo Electric is one of the major companies associated with the giant…

Suzuki Motor Corporation is Japan's fourth largest automaker (trailing Toyota Motor Corporation, Nissan Motor Co.,…

Stock Index: Tokyo New York Furukawa Electric Co., Ltd.

Takashimaya Company, Limited is the oldest and one of the largest department store retailers in Japan.

Tomen Corporation is Japan's seventh largest general trading company (or sogo shosha), Japan's 17th largest company…

World War II:[fsps*3.5]The company supplies the Japanese navy with antiaircraft artillery shells and bulldozers.

Based in Tokyo, Terumo Corporation is Japan's largest manufacturer of medical supplies.

Ezaki Glico Company Ltd.

Tokyu Corporation operates railways, freight companies, bus companies, and a domestic airline in Japan.

Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.

Assets: ¥32.5 trillion (US$260 billion) The Norinchukin Bank is a unique institution in Japanese banking.

Odakyu Electric Railway Co., Ltd.

Hakuhodo, Inc.

Kodansha Ltd.

Assets: ¥976 billion Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Amsterdam Luxembourg SICs: 6211 Security Brokers, Dealers and…

Takara Holdings Inc.

Takeda Chemical Industries, Ltd.

Total Assets: ¥16.7 trillion ($124 billion)(2002) Stock Exchanges: Osaka Tokyo London Ticker Symbol: 8403 NAIC: 523991…

Total Assets: ¥23.78 trillion (US $223.63 billion) (1996) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka London SICs: 6021 National…

Operating Revenues: ¥553.67 billion (US$4.64 billion) SICs: 4833 Television Broadcasting Stations; 4832 Radio…

Toray Industries, Inc.

Total Assets: $19.43 billion (1998) NAIC: 524113 Direct Life Insurance Carriers Among the top life insurers in the…

NTN Corporation is one of Japan's largest manufacturers of bearings, second in domestic market share only to longtime…

Shiseido Company, Limited is the leading cosmetics company in Japan and one of the largest in the world.

Victor Company of Japan, Limited (JVC) is one of several Japanese companies that has evolved to dominate the…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Hiroshima Fukuoka Frankfurt Primarily a maker of stainless and surface-coated sheet…

Early 1980s:Yamato partners with UPS to provide worldwide delivery services.

Citizen Watch Co., Ltd.

Isetan Company Limited is one of Japan's leading department store companies, particularly noted for its merchandising…

Market Value: ¥1.186 trillion (US$6.177 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya The Kajima Corporation is one of the…

Kubota Corporation prides itself on being flexible and adjusting as necessary to compete under changing economic…

Bridgestone Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer of tires, and the company is number three in the North…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Mitsubishi Oil Co., Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Mitsubishi Rayon Co., Ltd., originally a major Japanese producer of rayon, is now an…

Early 1940s:During World War II, the company makes military trucks and engines for airplanes and torpedo boats.

Total Assets: US$521.31 billion (1994) Stock Exchanges: Osaka Tokyo Kyoto Frankfurt London SICs: 6036 Savings…

Brother Industries, Ltd., is one of the world's top manufacturers of electronic office machines.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Daikin Industries is the leading Japanese manufacturer of commercial air conditioning…

Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.

Hitachi Zosen Corporation operates as one of Japan's largest heavy industrial machinery firms.

Perhaps the most dramatic example of Japan's ability to overcome long odds in a short space of time has been the growth…

The Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Matsushita Electric Works (MEW) is the industrial counterpart of the better-known Matsushita Electric Industrial Co.,…

Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd.

The Sharp Corporation is one of the largest and oldest Japanese consumer goods manufacturers.

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Tosoh Corporation is one of Japan's leading manufacturers of industrial and specialty chemicals.

Konica Corporation produces a wide range of products, mainly within the imaging sphere.

Ricoh Company, Ltd.

Although it scarcely predates World War II, Canon Inc.

One of the largest producers of medium- and heavy-duty trucks in the world, Isuzu Motors, Ltd.

Marui Company Ltd.

Since Kazuo Tashima began using German technology to produce one camera a day in 1928, Minolta Co., Ltd.

A unit of the Mitsubishi Group, Mitsubishi Estate Company, Limited (MEC) is one of the foremost real estate management,…

NOF Corporation is Japan's leading oleochemicals group, producing a highly diversified range of products derived from…

Nippon Express Company, Ltd., is one of Japan's largest transportation companies, with nearly 1,170 service centers in…

Toyota Motor Corporation was Japan's largest car company and the world's third largest by the year 2000.

An independent public company for much of its history, Daishowa Paper Manufacturing Co., Ltd.

Market Value: ¥571.2 billion (US$ 3.573 billion) Stock Index: Hong Kong Tokyo Osaka Santaro Kumagai began his career in…

Makita Corporation is Japan's number one manufacturer and exporter of electric power tools.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya NHK Spring Co., Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Fukuoka Hiroshima Kyoto Niigata Sapporo Nippon Light Metal Company concentrates on the…

TonenGeneral Sekiyu K.K.

Clarion Company Ltd.

Shimano Inc.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Mitsui Real Estate Development Co., Ltd.

Market Value: ¥360.8 billion (US$2.266 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Toyo Seikan Kaisha is the largest container…

Total Assets: ¥30.86 trillion (US$345.39 billion) (1995) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya London Paris Zurich Geneva…

Hino Motors, Ltd.

Nichirei Corporation has developed a two-pronged leadership strategy in two core markets: processed foods, on the one…

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Ube Industries, Ltd.

Aisin Seiki Co., Ltd.

Chugai Pharmaceutical Co., Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka The Daio Paper Corporation is Japan's fourth largest paper manufacturer, and controls 6% of…

Total Assets: ¥7.8 trillion ($58.8 billion) (2002) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya London Paris Frankfurt…

1971: Cefazolin, a bacteria-fighting antibiotic, is launched.

Stock Index: Tokyo Nagoya Osaka Although the Taiyo Fishery Company has achieved prominence as Japan's second-largest…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Kyoto The Kinki Nippon Railway Company is the largest and oldest private railway…

Assets: ¥1.59 trillion (US$11.10 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya The Sumitomo Marine and Fire Insurance…

Revenues: ¥495.89 billion Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Düsseldorf Frankfurt Luxembourg Paris SICs: 6211 Security…

Kenwood Corporation is one of Japan's largest and most successful consumer-oriented electronics companies.

Seino Transportation Company, Ltd.

The Sony Corporation is one of the best-known names in consumer electronics.

Hankyu Department Stores, Inc.

Part of the Mitsui group, Mitsui & Co., Ltd.

Pioneer Electronic Corporation is one of the leading electronics firms in the world.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Kyoto Hiroshima Fukuoka Sapporo Niigata Frankfurt Amsterdam A member of the Sanwa…

Japanese company Itoham Foods Inc.

Stock Exchange: Tokyo Keio Teito Electric Railway Company (KTR) is one of the eight private railway operators in the…

Nagasakiya Co., Ltd.

Omron Corporation is a world leader in the field of automation.

Yamazaki Baking Co., Ltd.

ASICS Corporation is one of Japan's top makers of sport shoes and other equipment.

Asahi Breweries, Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Honshu Paper Co., Ltd.

Founded shortly after the end of World War II, Kotobukiya Co., Ltd.

Kyowa Hakko Kogyo Co., Ltd.

Marubeni Corporation is one of the largest of Japan's general trading companies, known as sogo shosha.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Luxembourg Paris Nippon Meat Packers is one of Japan's leading processors of packaged hams,…

Employees 5,963 Sales: ¥468.95 billion (US$3.45 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Oji Paper Co., Ltd., a member…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Sumitomo Realty & Development Co., Ltd.

Over the course of its more than 120-year history, Sapporo Breweries Limited has evolved from a government-owned beer…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Toyo Sash Co., Ltd.

Wacoal Corp.

1950s:Bandai introduces its own toys and begins exporting cheap ones abroad.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Sapporo Niigata Kyoto Hiroshima Fukuoka Frankfurt Among the world's top steel producers…

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Fukuoka Hiroshima Kyoto Niigata Sapporo Mitsui Mining & Smelting Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) was formed by the 1994 merger of Mitsubishi Kasei Corp.

SANYO Electric Co., Ltd.

Snow Brand Milk Products Company, Ltd.

Aiwa Co., Ltd.

The Chugoku Electric Power Company Inc.

Daihatsu Motor Company, Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Hokuriku Electric Power Company is one of the nine regional power companies that generate,…

Hokkaido Electric Power Company Inc.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Fukuoka The Kyushu Electric Power Company (KEPCO) supplies electricity and other services to…

One of Japan's leading consumer lending companies, Nippon Shinpan Co., Ltd.

Shikoku Electric Power Company, Inc.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Niigata The Tokyo Electric Power Company (TEPCO) is the world's largest privately-owned…

Tohoku Electric Power Company, Inc.

The Kansai Electric Power Company, Inc.

All Nippon Airways Co., Ltd.

Assets: ¥24.85 trillion (US$16.59 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka The Long-Term Credit Bank of Japan (LTCB) is one of…

Japan Airlines Company, Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Singapore Tokyu Land Corporation is the third-largest real estate company in Japan.

Tomy Company Ltd.

Mabuchi Motor Co.

Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd., also known as Mitsui Sekka, is one of Japan's leading petrochemical companies.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Established in 1956, Hitachi Metals, Ltd.

The Seiyu, Ltd.

The Asahi National Broadcasting Company, or TV Asahi, as it is more commonly known, is one of Japan's largest national…

Casio Computer Co., Ltd.

Assets: ¥16.42 trillion (US$131.38 billion) Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Since 1957 the Nippon Credit Bank has been one of…

The Daiei, Inc.

Kumon Institute of Education Co., Ltd.

Kyocera Corporation, founded in 1959, was one of the first companies to produce fine ceramic components.

Japan's Sanrio Company, Ltd.

Funai Electric Company Ltd.

The Japan Leasing Corporation is one of the largest commercial leasing companies in Japan.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Fukuoka Hiroshima Kyoto Niigata Sapporo Frankfurt Luxembourg Nichii Co., Ltd.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagoya Kyoto Hiroshima Fukuoka Niigata Sapporo Brussels Antwerp Frankfurt Mitsui O.S.K.

Since the 1880s the diversified collection of industrial manufacturers now known as Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI)…

Kanematsu Corporation was formed in April 1967 as Kanematsu-Gosho Ltd.

Market Value: ¥200.2 billion (US$1.114 billion) Stock Index: Osaka Tokyo Nagoya Hiroshima Frankfurt Nissho Iwai was…

Formerly known as JUSCO AEON Co., Ltd.

Mitsubishi Motors Corporation is Japan's fourth largest car company, and manufactures and markets passenger cars and…

Total Assets: ¥140 trillion (US$1.2 trillion) (2002) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Ticker Symbol: 8411 NAIC: 551111 Offices of…

As the spearhead of Japan's economic transformation after World War II, Nippon Steel Corporation rose from virtual…

Early 20th century:[fs54]Choju Nishikawaya opens a footwear store in Nudge, the largest city in Chubu.

Headquartered at the base of Japan's Mount Fuji, Fanuc Ltd.

Roland Corporation is one of the world's leading designers and manufacturers of electric musical instruments, focused…

Kyoto-based Nidec Corporation is the world's leading manufacturer of the tiny electric motors that power hard disk…

Assets: & yen;21.78 trillion (US$174.27 billion) Stock index: Tokyo Osaka The product of a merger between the Bank of…

Ryoshoku Ltd.

Softbank Corp.

DDI Corporation is a Japanese long distance telephone company established to challenge the monopoly of Nippon Telegraph…

Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation (NTT) is the largest telecommunications firm in the world.

Cosmo Oil Co., Ltd.

East Japan Railway Company (JR East) is the largest passenger railway company in the world.

Stock Index: Tokyo Osaka Nagasaki Mitsubishi Materials Corporation is composed of two companies that have long been…

Total Assets: ¥72 trillion (US$701.4 billion) (1995) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka New York Basel Geneva London Paris…

Total Assets: ¥72 trillion (US$701.4 billion) (1995) Stock Exchanges: Tokyo Osaka New York Basel Geneva London Paris…