A gift from God

Everyone felt a sense of crisis. But more than anything, there was a sense of social mission, and above all, a simple desire to "win!"

"We want to beat our rivals!" is a simple desire. There are people who have followed through on that desire and achieved the world's best results. These are the people who took on the development of Optcal Fiber with such strong will that they forgot to eat and sleep, and who have supported Fujikura's subsequent history. Fujikura's efforts with Optcal Fiber began in 1970. At the time, the key to the practical application of Optcal Fiber was held by Corning Glass Works and Bell Laboratories in the United States. First, in 1970, Corning announced a fiber with an astonishingly low optical transmission loss of 20 dB/km (20 decibels per kilometer). Then, in 1974, Bell Laboratories announced a fiber with a transmission loss of 4 dB/km at the International Glass Congress held in Kyoto. This made the path to practical application of Optcal Fiber suddenly more realistic.

Fujikura also made bold shifts, such as increasing the number of researchers at once and concentrating R&D funds in the communications business. The research system and results were recognized, and the company participated in joint research with Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Public Corporation (now NTT) along with major electric wire manufacturers. "We will never lose to our rivals!" This fighting spirit became the greatest motivation for the R&D team.