NYK - 140 Years Unchanged DNA, Co-creating Future Value

Lemon (跨境电商)

2025-10-15

On October 2, 2025, at the ceremony commemorating the 140th anniversary of its founding, NYK President Takaya Soga addressed all employees, reflecting on the company's century-long journey and looking ahead to the future.

"On October 1 — a company holiday in recognition of our founding — we marked the 140th anniversary of NYK's founding, celebrating a significant milestone in our long history," President Soga stated at the outset.

He noted that NYK has achieved this remarkable history thanks to the efforts of predecessors who laid the company's foundations with an indomitable spirit, and also due to the passion of all employees supporting the company today.

He emphasized that the “enduring DNA” running through NYK's 140-year development is an unwavering sense of mission and pride: "a keen ability in every era to discern society’s and people’s evolving needs, coupled with a resolute determination to fulfill them." This spiritual core can be traced back to the era of Yataro Iwasaki, founder of the Mitsubishi group.

In his address, President Soga outlined the company's progressive trajectory through key phases:

Founding Phase (1885-1945): Established shipping operations and expanded global route networks.
Reconstruction Phase (1946-1964): Entered the era of vessel enlargement and specialization, witnessing the birth of large tankers, wood-chip carriers, and ore carriers. The present-day NYK was "established as one of the world’s leading shipping companies through a merger with Mitsubishi Shipping Co. Ltd."
Specialization Phase (1965-1984): Management demonstrated foresight and decisiveness, successively launching Japan’s first container ship, car carriers, and LNG carriers, "quickly recognizing significant industry changes and responding accordingly."
Transformation Phase (1985-2005): Facing the impact of Japanese yen appreciation, the company announced the "NYK 21" long-term vision, aiming to transform into a comprehensive logistics company spanning land, sea, and air, and reintroduced the cruise business.
Strategic Restructuring (2006-2019): Supported China's economic rise, and following the 2008 financial crisis, implemented strategic reorganizations that "broke the mold", such as integrating NYK Logistics and Yusen Air & Sea Service, and spinning off the liner business to form Ocean Network Express (ONE).
Future-Oriented Phase (2020-Present): The company has positioned "ESG/sustainability management at the core of our strategy", actively pursues strategic M&A, and aims to "go beyond the scope of a comprehensive global logistics enterprise to co-create value required for the future."

Looking back,President Soga summarized NYK's valuable traits:"in every era we have prioritized human potential and technological expertise," “continued to invest in growth even during challenging financial times”,,and fostered "partnerships to achieve what no single company could accomplish — what we now refer to as 'co-creation'", consistently maintaining strong industry leadership. He is convinced these constitute the company’s “invisible assets.”

Facing the future, he pointed out that the core competitiveness lies in"solving societal challenges as part of its business while continuing to respond flexibly and resiliently amid uncertainty."

Finally, he called on all colleagues: "Building on the invisible assets cultivated over 140 years, and guided by flexibility and the spirit of embracing new challenges, let us shape the next chapter in the history and future of NYK and the NYK Group," expressing his deepest gratitude to partners across all industries for their support over these 140 years.