Nikon to cease production in Japan after 70 years

A recent report states that Nikon will cease manufacturing cameras in Japan, ending more than 70 years of camera production in the country.

As reported in the Japanese newspaper Asahi and the online news website AERAdot, Nikon has decided to move manufacturing from its 27,000 square meters factory in Sendai in the Miyagi Prefecture of northern Japan to its Thailand factory. Both the Z7 and Z6 mirrorless cameras are already being produced in Thailand, and by the end of 2021 the flagship D6 will also be produced there.

The Sendai factory has been running near-continuously since it first opened in 1971. The factory in Thailand was established in 1990 and has gradually become Nikon’s primary factory for producing cameras and lenses. 

The decision comes after reports in November that Nikon would cut 20% of its staff outside of Japan, on the back of operating losses of $183.3 million ($241 million AUD) in Q2 2020. 

In a statement to Asahi, Nikon's General Manager of Video Division, Hirotaka Ikegami, said the Sendai factory will continue to be used as "a start-up factory for new business endeavours, with an emphasis on production technology and mobility."

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