NEC Corporation (Quantum R&D) — vendor dossier

NEC Corporation (Quantum R&D)

QKDQuantum computers
N

Japanese IT conglomerate whose quantum programme runs out of the Secure System Platform Research Laboratories and the NEC-AIST Quantum Technology Cooperative Research Laboratory. NEC was one of the four original Japanese operators of the NICT-led Tokyo QKD Network in 2010, supplying a 1.25 GHz decoy-state BB84 link with WDM multiplexing on the 45 km Koganei–Otemachi loop. Commercial focus is continuous-variable QKD (CV-QKD) for in-band multiplexing of QKD with classical data over standard telecom fibre. NEC also leads the superconducting-qubit hardware-integration project inside Japan's Cabinet Office Moonshot Goal 6 programme.

HQ
Minato, Tokyo, Japan
Founded
1899
Status
public
Last verified
Sun May 17 2026 08:00:00 GMT+0800 (Singapore Standard Time)

Timeline

201020112012201320142015201620172018201920202021202220232024202520262027202820292030203120322033203420352036203720382039204020412042204320442045204620472048204920502051today
2010-10
Tokyo QKD Network public launch at UQCC2010 — NEC, NTT-NICT, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba (Cambridge / Stanford) and three EU groups (ID Quantique, Toshiba Research Europe, austrian AIT–all-Vienna) demonstrate secure videoconferencing and rerouting around eavesdropping
2011-06
Sasaki et al. report the Tokyo QKD Network field test in Optics Express; NEC operated the 45 km decoy-state BB84 link no. 2 with NICT
2015
NEC / NICT — 120 km QKD with ultrahigh-purity single-photon source and superconducting single-photon detectors (Scientific Reports)
2020
NEC joins Cabinet Office Moonshot R&D programme (Goal 6, fault-tolerant universal QC) for superconducting-circuit integration
2020-10
NEC / NICT / ZenmuTech — quantum-cryptography-secured transmission and secret-sharing backup of (dummy) electronic medical records
2020-12
NEC / Toshiba / NICT / Nomura Holdings / Nomura Securities — joint verification tests begin; Tokyo QKD Network extended into Nomura Securities premises for financial-sector cybersecurity
2022-01
NEC / Toshiba / NICT / Nomura — successful joint verification of low-latency QKD-protected transmission of large-volume financial-transaction data in FIX format
2024-11
Mitsui & Co. / Quantinuum / NEC — first quantum-tokens trial using commercial off-the-shelf QKD over 10 km Tokyo fibre; NEC supplied the QKD platform
2025-07
NICT / Toshiba / NEC — announced as the first multiplexed transmission of BB84 (Toshiba) and CV-QKD (NEC) signals with high-speed data over a single C+L-band Open-APN section using NEC SpectralWave WX ROADM
2026
Continue NICT / Toshiba / NEC IOWN Open-APN integration toward telco-backbone deployment of multiplexed CV-QKD on shared C+L-band fibre
2050
Moonshot Goal 6 — fault-tolerant universal quantum computer (NEC contribution: superconducting-circuit integration under Yamamoto)
Founded 1899 shipped milestone public roadmap

Current flagship

NEC CV-QKD module + SpectralWave WX-series ROADM (IOWN Open-APN configuration) — continuous-variable QKD over standard SMF, in-band multiplexed with classical data; deployed in NICT / Toshiba joint trials and commercial-style field demos (Mitsui quantum tokens)

Milestones

  1. 2025-07
    NICT / Toshiba / NEC — announced as the first multiplexed transmission of BB84 (Toshiba) and CV-QKD (NEC) signals with high-speed data over a single C+L-band Open-APN section using NEC SpectralWave WX ROADM
    QKD press source ↗
  2. 2024-11
    Mitsui & Co. / Quantinuum / NEC — first quantum-tokens trial using commercial off-the-shelf QKD over 10 km Tokyo fibre; NEC supplied the QKD platform
    QKD press source ↗
  3. 2022-01
    NEC / Toshiba / NICT / Nomura — successful joint verification of low-latency QKD-protected transmission of large-volume financial-transaction data in FIX format
    QKD press source ↗
  4. 2020-12
    NEC / Toshiba / NICT / Nomura Holdings / Nomura Securities — joint verification tests begin; Tokyo QKD Network extended into Nomura Securities premises for financial-sector cybersecurity
    QKD press source ↗
  5. 2020-10
    NEC / NICT / ZenmuTech — quantum-cryptography-secured transmission and secret-sharing backup of (dummy) electronic medical records
    QKD press source ↗
  6. 2020
    NEC joins Cabinet Office Moonshot R&D programme (Goal 6, fault-tolerant universal QC) for superconducting-circuit integration
    Quantum computers press source ↗
  7. 2015
    NEC / NICT — 120 km QKD with ultrahigh-purity single-photon source and superconducting single-photon detectors (Scientific Reports)
    QKD paper source ↗
  8. 2011-06
    Sasaki et al. report the Tokyo QKD Network field test in Optics Express; NEC operated the 45 km decoy-state BB84 link no. 2 with NICT
    QKD paper source ↗
  9. 2010-10
    Tokyo QKD Network public launch at UQCC2010 — NEC, NTT-NICT, Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba (Cambridge / Stanford) and three EU groups (ID Quantique, Toshiba Research Europe, austrian AIT–all-Vienna) demonstrate secure videoconferencing and rerouting around eavesdropping
    QKD press source ↗

Roadmap

  • 2026 Continue NICT / Toshiba / NEC IOWN Open-APN integration toward telco-backbone deployment of multiplexed CV-QKD on shared C+L-band fibre source ↗
  • 2050 Moonshot Goal 6 — fault-tolerant universal quantum computer (NEC contribution: superconducting-circuit integration under Yamamoto) source ↗

Capability details

QKD

Protocols
BB84, decoy-state, CV-QKD
Rate vs distance
Tokyo QKD link no. 2 (2010): 45 km Koganei–Otemachi, 1.25 GHz clock, decoy-state BB84 with WDM, NICT SSPDs; current product line: CV-QKD on standard SMF (specific rate-distance numbers not published in a peer-reviewed source)
5 unverified fields
  • modalities.qkd.rate_distance — Tokyo QKD link no. 2 numbers (45 km, 1.25 GHz, decoy-state BB84 with WDM) are from Sasaki 2011; current CV-QKD product rate-distance figures are not in a peer-reviewed source and NEC has not published a product datasheet equivalent to Toshiba's MU / LD line
  • business_units.0.lead
  • shareholders.2.stake_percent
  • key_personnel — NEC does not publish a dedicated "Head of Quantum" role title; Yamamoto is the most-cited public-facing quantum lead but the QKD product line is run from Secure System Platform Research Laboratories whose head is not separately disclosed in English-language materials
  • roadmap

People

  • Takayuki Morita — President & CEO, NEC Corporation (since 2021-04) ↗
  • Tsuyoshi Yamamoto — Research Fellow, NEC; Moonshot Goal 6 Project Manager (superconducting-circuit integration) (since 2020) ↗
  • Masahide Sasaki — Director-General, NICT (collaborator on Tokyo QKD Network and IOWN-APN demos) (since 2010) ↗

References