On January 20, 1934, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. (currently FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation) was established.
The parent corporation, Dainippon Celluloid Co., Ltd. (currently Daicel Corporation), recognized the potential of photographic and motion picture films as a new application of celluloid, a synthetic resin, and began manufacturing photographic films that had previously only been imported from Europe and the U.S. After continued research and development for integrated manufacturing, from film base to final products, in 1933 the company built its Ashigara factory in Minamiashigara Village (currently Minamiashigara City), Kanagawa Prefecture. In the following year, Dainippon Celluloid Co., Ltd. spun off its photographic film business and established Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. as an integrated manufacturer of photosensitive materials.
In 1934, the company began selling Japan’s first domestically manufactured positive films for motion pictures and other photosensitive materials, such as graphic arts films, dry plates and photographic print paper. In 1936, it launched independently developed products, including medical X-ray films, and expanded its sales. Additionally, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. accelerated operations with an eye toward future growth and development, including expanding the Ashigara factory to meet growing demand for motion picture films, constructing the Odawara factory to manufacture chemicals as raw materials and establishing a laboratory for research into photographic emulsions and natural color photography.
Fuji Photo Film Co, Ltd. (hereafter referred to as Fujifilm), which was strengthening its market position as a manufacturer of photosensitive materials, planned to grow into an integrated photographic manufacturer, including making cameras. The company built an optical glass factory in Odawara in 1940 for the manufacturing of photographic products, from optical glass and camera lenses. This was the origin of FUJINON lenses, which remain central to the company’s optical device business.
After World War II, Fujifilm started research and development into the domestic production of color film. In 1948, the company introduced FUJI COLOR FILM, an outer-reversal-type, medium-format general color film. Then, in 1951, the first Japanese color motion picture using this film was produced—a milestone in Japanese motion picture history.
In addition, Fujifilm changed the base for its motion picture film from a highly flammable conventional material to a non-flammable TAC base, which dramatically improved the safety of all kinds of films.
In 1948, Fujifilm made its entry into the camera and optical device business by launching its first camera, the FUJICA SIX IA, a spring camera for medium-format roll films.
Around this time, amateur photography became popular, and people were pursuing careers in photojournalism, leading to a boom in camera sales. In response, Fujifilm released its flagship product, the NEOPAN SS roll film, in 1952. Furthermore, it continued to expand its product range and emerged as a powerful driving force during the boom.
Beginning in the 1950s, Fujifilm entered into overseas markets, exporting photosensitive materials to Southeast Asia. In 1958, it established a sales company in Brazil to develop the Latin American market and opened an office in New York City, U.S.A.
During this period, Fujifilm also developed innovative products that paved the way into a new era. In 1956, the company succeeded in the commercial application of FUJIC, the first electronic computer manufactured in Japan for the fast, precise design of optical lenses. Beyond its use within the company, the product also responded to computing needs from the Japan Meteorological Agency and local universities, attracting significant attention.
Fujifilm carried out a company-wide campaign to ensure strict quality control for manufacturing and, as a result, received the Deming Application Prize* in 1956. Since then, it has maintained its focus on quality.
*An award given for outstanding achievements in the quality control of industrial products. The name honors William Edwards Deming, an American statistician who had a significant impact on Japanese industry.
Considering the growing demand from amateur photographers, Fujifilm established a new research and development system to improve the sensitivity and image quality of color film. The company released FUJICOLOR N50 in 1961 and FUJICOLOR N64, Japan’s first color film with automatic color calibration, in 1963, resulting in rapid domestic market sales.
To expand the 8mm market, Fujifilm developed the FUJICA Single-8 system, allowing everyone to readily enjoy 8mm movies. It was well received as a revolutionary home movie system and took the industry by storm.
In 1964, Asia’s first Olympic Games were held in Tokyo, and Fujifilm conducted extensive advertising activities at home and abroad.
While working to improve its corporate image and brand strength, the company also expanded its color lab network by establishing directly operated developing facilities and color labs throughout Japan.
Fujifilm diversified its business through the development and use of its leading-edge, proprietary technologies throughout the 1960s.
Recognizing the potential of electronic photography, Fujifilm undertook extensive research into xerography. In 1961, the company entered the Technology Agreement with U.K.-based Rank Xerox Limited and established a joint venture with Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. (currently FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp.) in the following year. Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. launched Fuji Xerox 914, the first domestically manufactured plain paper copier, which was immediately recognized as an innovative product that would dramatically transform office operations.
Fujifilm leveraged its materials chemistry, including high-precision coating and high-precision forming, to take on new endeavors, such as magnetic memory materials for broadcast videotapes, pressure-sensitive paper, pre-sensitized (PS) plates for offset printing and micrographic equipment.
On the manufacturing front, Fujifilm built Fujinomiya factory in Fujinomiya City, Shizuoka Prefecture in 1963, and the company started manufacturing photographic paper for photo prints. On the sales front, Fujifilm expanded product exports by opening sales offices in Düsseldorf, Germany, and New York, U.S.A.
In 1969, the company’s 35th anniversary, Fujifilm built the Tokyo Head Office Nishiazabu Building (the sixth tallest building in Japan at the time) in Minato-ku, Tokyo. The company improved management efficiency by consolidating the head office and the Tokyo sales division, which had previously operated in separate locations.
Amid a global economy with intensifying market competition, Fujifilm launched new products to capitalize on its leading-edge, proprietary technologies. In 1974, the company released FUJICOLOR F-II, a fine-grain color negative film, and two years later launched FUJICOLOR F-II 400, a color film boasting the world’s highest sensitivity*, for amateur photographers. The products impressed users with their technological capabilities and reliability, further boosting Fujifilm brand image.
*At the time of product release.
Additionally, Fujifilm focused on developing small, lightweight, easy-to-use cameras featuring advanced functions, such as built-in flash and autofocus. In 1972, it released a 35mm compact camera, the FUJICA GP. The company also expanded into single-lens reflex cameras and released the ST Series.
Fujifilm accelerated the diversification of its businesses during this period. In 1971, the company launched endoscopes that applied its expertise in optical lenses to the field of medical devices.
Amid intensifying competition in the office field, Fujifilm released the Fuji Xerox 2200, the world’s first and smallest copier, in 1973 and the Fuji Xerox 3500, a small, high-speed, high-performance copier, in 1978. Around that time, It also started focusing on applications for improving business operations and became a pioneer in office productivity solutions.
As part of its continued business expansion, the TAC base that the company had launched under the FUJITAC brand in 1958 became widely used in products like digital watches and calculators in the 1970s. FUJITAC paved the way to Fujifilm’s present-day display materials business.
Fujifilm also increased manufacturing capability to meet market needs. In 1972, the company started operating a new factory for the integrated manufacturing of X-ray films for radiography at the Fujinomiya factory. In 1974, Fujifilm built the Yoshida-Minami factory, the world’s largest factory dedicated to PS plates for offset printing at the time, in Yoshida-cho, Shizuoka Prefecture, to address growing domestic and overseas demand.
In 1980, Fujifilm created a new corporate identity (CI) mark. The company also formulated the medium-term management plan “Vision-50,” declaring its intention to become “Fujifilm as Global Player” and “Fujifilm as Technology Company,” and describing its vision and roadmap for its 50th anniversary in 1984. Fujifilm focused its global strategy on improving quality and cost competitiveness. As part of this strategy, the company established a factory in the Netherlands in 1982 and another in the U.S. in 1988.
The 1980s was a period in which Fujifilm developed world-leading products that could stand the test of time.
The company announced the development of FCR (Fuji Computed Radiography), the world’s first digital X-ray diagnostic imaging system using computer processing. The product set Fujifilm apart as a pioneer of the digital age and has since driven the ongoing digitalization of medical care.
Fujifilm also developed the world’s first fully digital camera, which recorded digital images using a memory card, the FUJIX DS-1P, in 1988, leading to its current digital camera business.
QuickSnap, the world’s first one-time-use camera dramatically transformed the culture of photography by allowing anyone to take photos anytime, anywhere through the novel concept of film with an added lens.
Fujifilm was an official sponsor of the 1982 FIFA World Cup in Spain and the 1984 Los Angeles Olympic Games, which left a lasting impression on the world of “Fujifilm as Global Player.” The company provided official films and was responsible for photographic processing at the venues, leading to widespread product recognition and the establishment of the company as a premier brand in global markets.
In 1983, Fuji-Hunt Electronics Technology Co., Ltd. (currently FUJIFILM Electronic Materials Co., Ltd.) was established as a joint venture with the U.S.-based Philip A. Hunt Chemical Corporation. The company started importing and selling photoresists, a photosensitive polymer material essential for semiconductor circuits, and then began manufacturing photoresists and materials for color filters for LCDs, which helped to develop its electronic materials business.
In the 1990s, while continuing to refine its analog technology, Fujifilm took on greater challenges in anticipation of the digital age.
In the imaging field, Fujifilm released the FUJICHROME Velvia, a photographic film loved by professional photographers for its vivid and sharp colors; the INSTAX mini 10, a card-sized instant photo system; and the FinePix 700, a megapixel digital camera that significantly advanced performance through higher image quality and made digital photography more accessible. In the field of in-store silver halide photo prints, Fujifilm launched the Frontier digital minilab and seized the lead in the digitalization of the industry.
Outside of photography, Fujifilm continued to develop products and technologies to meet the needs of the digital age that have paved the way to its current businesses, such as the SYNAPSE medical imaging and information management system, display materials, digital full-color copiers, production printers and the advanced super thin-layer and high-output metal media (ATOMM) technology used in magnetic tapes.
In May 1995, Fujifilm faced a serious challenge after being sued by the Eastman Kodak Company before the Office of the United States Trade Representative under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act. Kodak claimed that Japan’s photographic film and paper market was closed and its entry into the market was being intentionally impeded. Fujifilm based its counterarguments on objective facts and appealed through mass media and the internet to show that the Japanese market was by no means closed. These tireless efforts bore fruit: Fujifilm’s claim was fully accepted and the company prevailed in 1998 in the case brought before the World Trade Organization.
Fujifilm owned 50 percent of shares in Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., which manufactured and sold office products like multifunction printers. In 2001, Fujifilm acquired an additional 25 percent of the shares from the U.S.-based Xerox Corporation and made the company a consolidated subsidiary.
Around that time, Fujifilm was faced with the critical risk of losing its core business. With the rapid advancements in digitalization, the demand for its mainstay business of photographic films peaked in 2000 and began to decline, falling to less than a tenth of its peak by 2010.
Consequently, Fujifilm embarked on its Second Foundation to survive as a leading company throughout the 21st century.
To build new growth strategies—a main component of the 2004 medium-term management plan VISION75—Fujifilm took stock of the technologies that it had cultivated for photosensitive materials for the creation of new businesses. The company identified priority business fields where it could expect growth through the evolution and application of its proprietary technologies, then formulated and promoted its growth strategies.
Throughout these efforts, Fujifilm’s corporate stance of valuing photography remained unchanged. In 2006, Fujifilm announced its commitment to develop, protect and nurture photography culture.
In October 2006, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. changed its company name to FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation and adopted a new corporate structure in which the holding company owned two businesses: FUJIFILM Corporation, to succeed the business of Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd.; and Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. In line with the name change, Fujifilm created a new corporate brand logo and declared its commitment to operate across a wider range of businesses. In 2007, the headquarters of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, FUJIFILM Corporation and Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. were integrated into the new head office in the Tokyo Midtown Building.
Fujifilm also improved its research and development and its manufacturing capabilities. In 2005, the company built a factory in Kikuyo-machi, Kumamoto Prefecture, to manufacture LCD materials to meet rapidly growing demand. In 2006, Fujifilm opened the FUJIFILM Advanced Research Laboratories in Kaisei-machi, Kanagawa Prefecture, to strengthen its research into original, cutting-edge technologies.
Fujifilm also actively invested in and implemented mergers and acquisitions (M&A) to diversify its businesses. In 2006, Fujifilm entered the field of cosmetics and supplement products and then launched the ASTALIFT functional cosmetics series in 2007. In 2008, Fujifilm made Toyama Chemical Co., Ltd. its consolidated subsidiary and made its entry into the pharmaceutical business.
Amid the lingering effects of the global financial and economic crisis in 2008, Fujifilm identified three businesses—healthcare, advanced materials and document solutions—as the pillars of its growth strategy in the 2011 medium-term management plan VISION80.
In the healthcare field, it promoted an initiative to become a comprehensive healthcare company that contributes to prevention, diagnosis and treatment of diseases.
In 2011, it acquired two providers of contract development and manufacturing services for the biopharmaceutical industry from the U.S.-based Merck & Co., Inc. and entered into the bio-CDMO* business. In 2015, Fujifilm acquired U.S.-based Cellular Dynamics International, Inc., a leader in the development and production of induced pluripotent stem cells, strengthening its drug discovery support and its work in the cell therapy field. In 2017, Fujifilm made Wako Pure Chemical Industries, Ltd., whose main business is reagents, a consolidated subsidiary. Then, in 2019, the company made Biogen (Denmark) Manufacturing ApS, a Danish manufacturing subsidiary of Biogen Inc., a consolidated subsidiary. Both these acquisitions aimed to further enhance Fujifilm’s life sciences business.
*Contract Development and Manufacturing Organization: Provides clients such as pharmaceutical companies with a wide range of services, including the development of manufacturing processes, stability testing and the manufacturing of investigational and commercial drugs.
In the field of advanced materials, Fujifilm launched EXCLEAR, a sensor film for touch panels, in 2012. In 2013, the company created the Highly Functional Materials Business Development Headquarters and established a system to align its proprietary technologies with market needs and leverage them for early commercialization.
In the document solutions field, Fujifilm opened the Fuji Xerox R&D Square in the Minato Mirai 21 district of Yokohama City in 2010 to generate new value. In 2019, Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd. became a wholly owned subsidiary of FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation through the acquisition of its shares from the U.S.-based Xerox Corporation.
In other businesses, Fujifilm focused on creating products that would impact the global markets.
Fujifilm launched the X Series premium compact cameras in 2011, which, despite their smaller size, featured high image quality that outperformed single lens reflex cameras. The company shifted its digital camera business to focus on high-end models.
In 2012, Fujifilm launched LTO Tape, a magnetic tape storage media for computer backup with a storage capacity of 2.5 TB. As the company has since advanced the technology to increase storage capacity to 580 TB, expectations continue to rise for this tape as an essential recording medium for a society with a growing volume of digital data.
In 2014, Fujifilm marked its 80th anniversary. The company announced its corporate slogan, “Value from Innovation,” which represents its stance of creating innovative technologies, products and services and continuing to contribute to society. In 2017, the company formulated the CSR plan “Sustainable Value Plan 2030,” targeting FY2030 for its long-term goals, and declared that it would introduce measures to resolve social issues through business activities and contribute to realizing a sustainable society.
The 2020s began with the outbreak and spread of the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2021, as the pandemic impacted the entire world, Fujifilm formulated its medium-term management plan VISION2023, targeting FY2023. The plan provided an actionable pathway for formulating the company’s Sustainable Value Plan 2030 to contribute to resolving social issues through business activities under the four priority areas of the environment, health, daily life and work style, while also accelerating the growth of the Fujifilm Group.
Fujifilm set its new CO2 emissions reduction target for the Group’s entire product life cycle to 50 percent of the FY2019 level by FY2030, and CO2 emissions from the Group’s operations to net zero (zero carbon) by FY2040.
Amid the pandemic, Fujifilm made a wide range of contributions in the healthcare field by providing X-ray imaging diagnostic systems, test kits, disinfectants, antibacterial products and contract manufacturing of an active pharmaceutical ingredient for a vaccine.
Fujifilm is also contributing to the realization of a new work style, a result of the pandemic, through services like CocoDesk private office space in station facilities and shopping malls.
Given the high growth potential of the healthcare field, Fujifilm acquired Hitachi, Ltd.’s diagnostic imaging business division and included it as a Group member in March 2021.
Fuji Xerox Co., Ltd., which became wholly owned by FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation in 2019, changed its company name in April 2021 to FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp. The company expanded its business region from the Asia Pacific to the rest of the world and started doing business under the Fujifilm brand. FUJIFILM Business Innovation Corp. is accelerating the expanding sales geographically using Fujifilm’s global sales channels and providing solutions and services that drive DX in the business.
The Fujifilm Group is committed to providing the world with products and services that leverage leading-edge, proprietary technologies in the four business areas of healthcare, materials, business innovation and imaging, and is continuously striving to resolve social issues through its business activities.