From X-rays to molecules: 150 years of measuring at Shimadzu.
Shimadzu generated ¥560.7bn of net sales and ¥73.7bn of operating profit in FY2025. Analytical & Measuring Instruments generated ¥364.9bn, about 65.1% of total net sales by site calculation. Medical Systems generated ¥73.8bn, Industrial Machinery ¥71.5bn and Aircraft Equipment ¥43.4bn. Shimadzu began in 1875 by manufacturing educational physics and chemistry instruments, succeeded in radiography in 1896 and built Japan's first medical X-ray system in 1909. In 1956 it developed Japan's first gas chromatograph. In 2002, employee Koichi Tanaka received the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for soft laser desorption ionization methods used in mass spectrometry, and the company continues related research today. Shimadzu has branched into several businesses, but measuring remains its largest economic core.