Fujitsu Limited
Founders
Furukawa Electric, Siemens & Halske · Founded 1935 · HQ today: Tokyo, Japan
Fujitsu was founded by Furukawa Electric, Siemens & Halske in 1935 in Kawasaki, Japan. It is now led by Takahito Tokita.
Fujitsu began on June 20, 1935, when Fuji Electric, itself a 1923 joint venture between Furukawa Electric and Germany's Siemens, spun off its telephone-equipment division as Fuji Tsushinki Seizo (Fuji Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing). Its first business was switching equipment for Japan's telephone network. That electrical-switching expertise led to the FACOM 100 relay computer in 1954, and the company adopted the name Fujitsu Limited in 1967.
Massive Japanese industrial conglomerate.
Furukawa Electric is one of the massive core corporate entities of the Furukawa zaibatsu. In 1923, they aggressively partnered with the German industrial titan Siemens to form Fuji Electric, specifically to import advanced European electrical technology into a rapidly industrializing Japan. Fujitsu was later spun out of this venture to focus entirely on telecommunications.
German multinational engineering and electronics conglomerate.
Siemens & Halske (now Siemens AG) provided the absolute critical advanced technology and patents required to establish Fuji Electric in Japan in 1923. This massive international joint venture laid the direct foundation for the creation of Fujitsu, providing the necessary engineering expertise to build Japan's modern telecommunications infrastructure.
Takahito Tokita
Representative Director, CEO and CDXO
Under Tokita, adjusted operating margin rose from 6.6% in FY2020 to 11.2% in FY2025, with four consecutive years of record adjusted operating profit. He also faced the UK Horizon inquiry, where Fujitsu acknowledged a moral obligation to contribute to compensation.
Tatsuya Tanaka
President and Representative Director
Serving as President and Representative Director from 2015 to 2019, he executed the critical, multi-year restructuring that saved the massive Japanese conglomerate from irrelevance in the cloud era.
Fujitsu was founded on June 20, 1935, in Kawasaki, Japan, as Fuji Tsushinki Seizo Kabushiki Kaisha (Fuji Telecommunications Equipment Manufacturing Co., Ltd.), created as the telecommunications spinoff of Fuji Electric Co., Ltd.
In 1923, Japan's Furukawa Electric and Germany's Siemens AG established Fuji Electric as a joint venture to manufacture electrical machinery. In 1935, Fuji Electric spun off its telephone and telecommunications switching division to form Fuji Tsushinki Seizo (Fujitsu).
Fujitsu is a contraction of Fuji Tsushinki Seizo. 'Fuji' came from Fuji Electric, whose name combined Furukawa and Siemens ('Jimens' in Japanese pronunciation), and 'tsushinki' means telecommunications equipment.
Dr. Toshio Ikeda was Fujitsu's effective chief computer architect in the 1950s and 1960s. He developed Japan's first commercial relay computer (FACOM 100 in 1954), pioneered IBM-compatible mainframe architectures, and championed Japan's technological independence in computing.
The FACOM (Fuji Automatic Computer) series, launched in 1954, grew into one of the world's most successful mainframe computer lines. By the 1970s, FACOM mainframes surpassed IBM in domestic market share, establishing Fujitsu as Japan's #1 computer company.
In 1956, Fujitsu engineer Dr. Seiuemon Inaba developed Japan's first numerical control (NC) system. In 1972, Fujitsu spun off its numerical control and robotics division as Fujitsu Fanuc Ltd. (now FANUC Corporation), creating the world's leading industrial robotics manufacturer.
It was not founded by a single entrepreneur. It was birthed by massive corporate conglomerates. It was spun out of Fuji Electric, which itself was a massive joint venture between the Japanese zaibatsu Furukawa Electric and the German industrial giant Siemens, completely tying Fujitsu to national telecom interests.
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