Nikon

Company History: Nikon Corporation (株式会社ニコン, Kabushiki-gaisha Nikon) (UK: /ˈnɪkɒn/ or US: /ˈnaɪkɒn/; About this soundlisten (help·info)[ɲikoɴ]), also known just as Nikon, is a Japanese multinational corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, specializing in optics and imaging products. The companies held by Nikon form the Nikon Group.

West Building of Nikon in Nishi-Ōi, Tokyo Nikon's products include cameras, camera lenses, binoculars, microscopes, ophthalmic lenses, measurement instruments, rifle scopes, spotting scopes, and the steppers used in the photolithography steps of semiconductor fabrication, of which it is the world's second largest manufacturer. The company is the eighth-largest chip equipment maker as reported in 2017. Also, it has diversified into new areas like 3D printing and regenerative medicine to compensate for the negative impacts from shrinking digital camera market.

Brief History: Japan is an island nation in the Pacific Ocean with dense cities, imperial palaces, mountainous national parks and thousands of shrines and temples. Shinkansen bullet trains connect the main islands of Kyushu (with Okinawa's subtropical beaches), Honshu (home to Tokyo and Hiroshima’s atomic-bomb memorial) and Hokkaido (famous for skiing). Tokyo, the capital, is known for skyscrapers, shopping and pop culture.

Although legend has it that Japan was founded in 660BC, archaeologists agree that settlement in the Japanese archpelago dates back as far as 100,000 years. The Jomon Period (8000-c.300BC) is the earliest that has been studied. It is named after the 'jomon' or cord-marked pattern style of pottery of the period.