About Us The History of Fujifilm

Fujifilm was born in 1934, in pursuit of the dream of producing photographic film domestically.
At that time, film was a completely unrealized field in Japan.
Overcoming many hurdles, employees worked single-mindedly on product development, and the company’s dream became reality.
Those were the first steps of a company that has become the world leader in manufacturing photosensitive materials.

Just four short years after its founding with the mission of producing photographic film domestically, the company began exporting in 1938 in order to develop global markets.
Aiming for expansion worldwide, in 1958, Fujifilm set up its first sales company in Brazil, and over the years, in many other countries, growing its business all over the world.
From the 1980s to the 1990s, the company set up global production systems focused on four zones: Japan, the U.S., Europe and China.

Fujifilm’s overseas businesses emphasize localization, creating markets by entering local markets and developing demand. Fujifilm has firmly established itself all around the world, creating strong production, sales and service networks.

Fujifilm has focused on improving the quality of photographic film, backed by its distinctive, innovative technologies.
QuickSnap, the world’s first one-time-use camera, materialized the concept of “everybody should enjoy photography with ease.”
This product proposed a new lifestyle and helped make photography culture more accessible.
Fujifilm also developed the world’s first fully digital camera, the FUJIX DS-1P, which recorded digital images using a memory card. This product not only influenced the digital camera industry, but also served as a model for its subsequent digital camera business.

In 1995, Eastman Kodak Company launched a suit against Fujifilm under Section 301 of the U.S. Trade Act, claiming that Fujifilm controlled the film distribution market in Japan and that this prevented U.S.-based Eastman Kodak Company from entering the market. Fujifilm provided counter-evidence at every turn, based on factual evidence.

This case demonstrated Fujifilm’s stance of stating the facts, no matter who the opposing party was, and of standing by its beliefs. Fujifilm held its ground, refuting Kodak’s unreasonable assertions, and won its case in 1998 before the World Trade Organization.

This matter also helped heighten Fujifilm’s presence in global markets.

With rapid advances in digitalization, demand for Fujifilm’s mainstay business of photographic film was falling by a catastrophic 20–30% a year. This was an unprecedented crisis, but the company saw it as an opportunity for further growth.

Fujifilm took stock of the technologies it had developed over the years and pursued diversification to build on its strengths. It was able to create new businesses by integrating its wide range of technologies, from fine chemistry to electronics, with markets.

In 2006, Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. changed its name to Fujifilm. Aiming to build a strong corporate group, FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation was established.

Fujifilm also adopted the corporate philosophy of going beyond the boundaries of business to further help improve people’s lives in broader ways. The company began working toward its Second Foundation by setting up FUJIFILM Advanced Research Laboratories and other initiatives, to support innovative advanced technological research looking toward the future.

As part of its original mission, held since the company’s founding, of valuing and disseminating photography culture, Fujifilm began the Photo Rescue Project in April 2011, retrieving and cleaning photos washed away by the tsunami after the March 2011 Great East Japan Earthquake. This project, which aimed to return photos holding many precious memories to their owners, reaffirmed the importance of photos as a means of saving important moments of life.

Beginning in 2013, and based on the concept of enriching people’s lives with photography, Fujifilm promoted the Photo Renaissance movement worldwide, advocating “shooting, preserving, displaying and gifting” photos to communicate the ways in which photos were originally meant to be enjoyed.

Instant camera instax™, which enables users to print and share a precious moment on the spot, was a runaway hit with younger consumers unfamiliar with printed photos and has proved very popular as a means of communication. In wide use in Asia, Europe and the U.S. today, instax™ enjoys worldwide popularity.
Fujifilm will continue suggesting new ways of enjoying photos to encourage communication through photography.

We want health for all, to bring smiles to the world.

Fujifilm has set for itself the goal of bringing the power of its AI and IT enhanced products and services to all countries and regions of the world by the end of FY2030, to address healthcare issues and improve access to medical services. We are continuing various efforts to achieve this goal.

We will contribute to fulfilling unmet medical needs by providing all-round value as a company supporting cutting-edge drug development. We offer a total solutions business supporting drug discovery, focusing on the stable supply of high-quality biopharmaceuticals, process development and contract manufacturing for cutting-edge gene therapy drugs in the advanced medical field, and the areas of regenerative medicine, culture mediums and reagents where we excel.

We will change future healthcare to initiate changes beneficial to society, animated by our desire to support you and your loved ones to live a future wreathed in smiles and offering products and services enabling a quick return to health, should illness occur.

Fujifilm has positioned Health, Environment, Daily Life and Work Style as priority areas in its four business segments of Healthcare, Materials^*, Imaging and Business Innovation, providing innovative technologies, products and services to help resolve social issues.

Healthcare In all areas of prevention, diagnosis and treatment, Fujifilm is ensuring healthcare for all and building a healthy society through cutting-edge products and services.

Materials^* In the era when digital transformation progresses, Fujifilm contributes to creating a safe and secure society by developing and providing cutting-edge functional materials.

Imaging Fujifilm brings peace and contentment to people’s lives by developing and providing high-grade, high-performance photo and imaging products and services.

Business Innovation Through products and solutions services to enhance productivity and stimulate creativity offered in markets around the world, Fujifilm promotes social change to make work meaningful for everyone.

* Formerly known as Materials, this segment name has been changed to Electronics.