Message from the President
"Social IN" Philosophy–Our Continuing Commitment to Value Creation
Formulated in 1994, our "Social IN" management philosophy is our determination to help all people achieve health and happiness in their lives by working as an integral member of society, by sharing our values, and by offering new values to society. This philosophy is the basis for all Olympus products, solutions, software, services and social contribution activities.
To offer new value is in other words to create corporate value. The establishment of Olympus in 1919 was inspired by its founder's ambition to contribute to the advancement of medicine by manufacturing high-quality microscopes in Japan in order to produce Japanese users an alternative to expensive imported models. Microscope manufacturing requires precision processing technologies and an advanced knowledge of optics. The technological heritage created in that era would later form the foundation for our other products, including film cameras, digital cameras and endoscopes. We developed the world's first practical endoscope in response to a request from a clinician who wanted a camera capable of observing the inside of a patient's stomach. This dedication to the needs of society and determination to offer new value by exploring new frontiers continue to shape our corporate culture today. These qualities are our foundation as a value-creating enterprise.
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