Notice on Ophthalmic frame and Sunglass Business

Nikon Corporation (Michio Kariya, President) announces today that it will close, effective March 2008, its ophthalmic frame and sunglass business which has been run by Nikon Eyewear Co., Ltd. (Masaki Hanagata, President), its subsidiary company. Nikon will concentrate to invest its management resources on the products and business fields where full advantage will be taken of its core technologies, represented by its optical technology.

The recent ophthalmic frame and sunglass market is experiencing severe pressure of competitive environments such as new entry of low-priced merchandisers in Japan as well as fierce global corporative competition. Nikon Eyewear Co., Ltd. has been aggressively promoting its business through such efforts as development of its original brands and licensing of overseas brands. However, discontinuation of the business has been decided, judging that synergy with Nikon’s core technologies is not expected and these management resources should be converted into other promising business fields.

The management resources will be directed into Nikon's core business such as precision equipment, imaging products, instruments and others including ophthalmic lens business, to further enhance their competence.