Establishment of the company

In August 1953, JAE was established with the aspiration of contributing, through electronic technology, to the aviation and space industry era that was sure to come to Japan in the future. At the time, Japan was lagging behind Western countries due to the postwar blank period in the aircraft industry, and aviation electronics was still an unknown field. For these reasons, JAE acquired new technologies by obtaining contracts to repair electronic equipment from the US Far East Air Force (FEAF), which was the largest user of state-of-the-art electronic equipment at the time, and also pursued research and studies on electronics both in Japan and overseas. In the process, we focused on the importance and potential specifically of connectors used in aviation electronic equipment, and began importing and selling connectors under technical license agreement with Cannon Electronic Co., U.S.A. Later, after acquiring the technology, we began manufacturing our own connectors.

Connectors

Founder Minoru Numoto

As the first president of JAE, he laid the foundation of our company with his outstanding dynamism and foresight, starting with a 5USD order for the repair of a single transformer and then going on to win annual contracts in the face of fierce competition, as well as to achieve technical tie-ups with major overseas companies, for which he was the top negotiator. As president and chairman for more than 20 years, he was responsible for the management of the company, and is also credited with establishing JAE's basic stance as a corporation. On the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the company's founding, then Chairman Numoto set forth the corporate philosophy of "Explore, Create, and Practice" with the aim of further developing the company's business, and this philosophy has been passed down through the generations within the company to the present day.

Corporate philosophy in Numoto's own handwriting

Laying the foundation of JAE’s three business lines

In August 1961, we signed a technical assistance agreement with the US company Honeywell and began manufacturing gyros, autoflight systems, and other equipment for the F104 jet fighter, the next major fighter aircraft. This project became the foundation of our current aerospace business.
In the connector field, the initial focus was on defense-related equipment, but by 1960, the main customers were private companies, and our connectors had a diverse range of applications, including wireless communication equipment, television and radio broadcasting equipment, machine tools, and electric motors. Furthermore, in December 1963, the company began production of new train car couplers for the Tokaido Shinkansen (bullet train line), which was slated to go into service the following year.
In 1962, the company began manufacturing contactless switches and relays, which later led to the formation of our current interface solutions business. These initiatives led to the establishment of our three main business lines.

Gyros

Launch of proactive overseas development

In March 1977, we established our first overseas subsidiary, Zet Marketing Company (present JAE Electronics, Inc.) in California, the US, for the purpose of collecting technical information, trade operations with the US, market research, and customer development.
In 1984, we established JAE Taiwan in order to respond to the rapid increase in connector exports to Southeast Asia. Next, we established JAE Oregon in 1988 to build a product supply system in the US. Since the 1990s, we have accelerated the Group’s global expansion by establishing production and sales bases in Hong Kong, Singapore, South Korea, the Philippines, the United Kingdom, and China (Wuxi, Wujiang, and Shanghai).

Zet Marketing Company at the time of establishment

Business expansion on growth markets from 2003 onward

In response to the proliferation of mobile phones, notebook PCs, and digital TVs that began in the late 1990s, we contributed to the informatization of society by developing and manufacturing connectors that take advantage of our strength in high-speed transmission. Especially since the 2010s, our business has grown sharply along with the rapid expansion of the smartphone market. In the automotive market as well, we continued to steadily expand our business by enhancing the lineup of connector products for information and communication systems and safety systems in step with the progress of electrification, and by newly commercializing capacitive touch panels for in-vehicle use. We also promoted the industrial equipment and infrastructure market as our third priority market, thereby strengthening each of our business lines.

Strengthening of production systems to support rapid growth

In order to adequately respond to the rapid business expansion and mass production of new products, we strengthened our production sites and made large investments in facilities. In the connector business, we made a large-scale investment in 2012 to establish a mass production system for new products in order to expand the business targeting smartphones. In addition, we strengthened production systems to meet the demand for local procurement of harnesses in the automotive market and the expansion of businesses that target overseas markets, thereby increasing the production capacity in each business line. Furthermore, we promoted in-house production, automation, and labor saving initiatives.

Cut-off walls (JAE Hirosaki)

Contribution to the standardization of connectors: HDMI connectors

Against the backdrop of the rapid growth of digital consumer equipment following the progress of digitalization and high-definition television broadcasting, we developed the DC1 Series of connectors for digital interfaces. The DC1 Series conforms to HDMI standards, supports high-speed transmission, and has a structure that takes into consideration measures to deal with electromagnetic interference (EMI). In addition, the DC1 Series has a structure that makes it easy to detach and reattach connectors.
We proposed connectors to HDMI Licensing, LLC from the standard development stage, and our proposed design was adopted as the standard. This enabled us to quickly launch the DC1 Series on the market, where it was adopted by many consumer electronics manufacturers. The DC2 Series, which is adapted to miniaturization and acceleration of devices, was also launched on the market and won a Technology & Engineering Emmy Award in 2009 for its contribution to the spread of digital broadcasting.

DC1 Series and Emmy Award

2023－

Aiming for sustainable growth from 2023

Going forward, JAE will continue to create value through our outstanding “CONNECTION” technology by leveraging our strengths in technological development and manufacturing, with a focus on the following five areas where we can contribute to solving social issues through business activities: Connected Society, Clean Energy, Safe Mobility, Industrial Innovation, and Air, Space and Ocean.　 We will continue to provide innovative and creative technologies and products under the corporate philosophy of "Explore, Create, and Practice." Specifically, we will expand our lineup of high-current connectors and charging plugs for EVs for the carbon neutral era, contribute to the shift to smart factories with operation panels and pendants (teaching devices) used for industrial robots, and provide highly reliable and high-quality flight controllers and radio altimeters for industrial drones that will be put into full operation in the future.

EV Charging Connector

Flight Controller for Drone

Robot Teach Pendant