Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Quantum R&D) — vendor dossier

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Quantum R&D)

QKDNetworking
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Mitsubishi Electric's quantum-communications research programme runs out of the Information Technology R&D Center (Kamakura) and MERL (Cambridge MA). One of the four Japanese operators of the NICT-led Tokyo QKD Network in 2010, supplying a decoy-state BB84 link on the 24 km Otemachi–Hakusan section. Current work spans a LEO on-orbit QKD payload demonstration with NICT (Terran Orbital Nebula bus, selected January 2026) and a February 2025 joint research agreement with Quantinuum K.K., Keio University, SoftBank and partners on scalable quantum information processing. A corporate research programme, not a standalone product line.

HQ
Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan
Founded
1921
Status
public
Last verified
Wed May 20 2026 08:00:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)

Timeline

20102011201220132014201520162017201820192020202120222023202420252026202720282029today
2010-10
Tokyo QKD Network public launch at UQCC2010 — Mitsubishi Electric one of four Japanese operators alongside NEC, NTT-NICT and Toshiba (Cambridge / Stanford)
2011-06
Sasaki et al. report the Tokyo QKD Network field test in Optics Express; Mitsubishi Electric operated the 24 km Otemachi–Hakusan decoy-state BB84 loopback link
2025-02
Joint research agreement with Quantinuum K.K., Keio University, SoftBank, Mitsui & Co., Yokohama National University and LQUOM on scalable quantum information processing (intra-site, inter-city and global quantum-internet interconnect)
2026-01
Terran Orbital (Lockheed Martin) selected to provide its Nebula satellite bus for the Mitsubishi Electric / NICT LEO QKD on-orbit demonstration mission
Founded 1921 shipped milestone public roadmap

Current flagship

Tokyo QKD Network heritage link + LEO QKD payload (in development) — terrestrial decoy-state BB84 (2010 heritage); LEO satellite QKD payload under joint development with NICT, satellite bus contracted to Terran Orbital (2026)

Milestones

  1. 2026-01
    Terran Orbital (Lockheed Martin) selected to provide its Nebula satellite bus for the Mitsubishi Electric / NICT LEO QKD on-orbit demonstration mission
    QKD press source ↗
  2. 2025-02
    Joint research agreement with Quantinuum K.K., Keio University, SoftBank, Mitsui & Co., Yokohama National University and LQUOM on scalable quantum information processing (intra-site, inter-city and global quantum-internet interconnect)
    Networking press source ↗
  3. 2011-06
    Sasaki et al. report the Tokyo QKD Network field test in Optics Express; Mitsubishi Electric operated the 24 km Otemachi–Hakusan decoy-state BB84 loopback link
    QKD paper source ↗
  4. 2010-10
    Tokyo QKD Network public launch at UQCC2010 — Mitsubishi Electric one of four Japanese operators alongside NEC, NTT-NICT and Toshiba (Cambridge / Stanford)
    QKD press source ↗

Roadmap

No public roadmap recorded.

Capability details

QKD

Protocols
BB84, decoy-state
Rate vs distance
Tokyo QKD link (2010): 24 km Otemachi–Hakusan loopback, decoy-state BB84, 13 dB total loss; satellite QKD payload (Terran Orbital Nebula bus) under development for LEO on-orbit demonstration

Networking

Role
research
7 unverified fields
  • roadmap — Mitsubishi Electric does not publish a public quantum-communications roadmap with target dates. The LEO QKD payload mission has no announced launch date; the Quantinuum / Keio / SoftBank / Mitsui / YNU / LQUOM agreement is open-ended research.
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  • key_personnel — Mitsubishi Electric does not publish a dedicated "Head of Quantum" English-language role; the IT R&D Center director and the quantum-cryptography group lead are not separately disclosed.

People

  • Kei Uruma — President & CEO, Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (since 2021-07) ↗
  • — Director, Information Technology R&D Center ↗

References