Editing NEC (section)

===1919 to 1938===
In 1919, NEC started its first association with [[Sumitomo Group|Sumitomo]], engaging Sumitomo Densen Seizosho to manufacture cables. As part of the venture, NEC provided cable manufacturing equipment to Sumitomo Densen. Rights to Western Electric's duplex cable patents were also transferred to Sumitomo Densen.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Fitzgerald|first=Robert|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FOg_CwAAQBAJ&q=1919+NEC+Sumitomo+Densen&pg=PA200|title=The Rise of the Global Company: Multinationals and the Making of the Modern World|date=2016-01-07|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=978-1-316-33828-5|language=en}}</ref>

The [[1923 Great Kantō earthquake|Great Kantō earthquake]] struck Japan in 1923. 140,000 people were killed and 3.4 million were left homeless.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Kanto Earthquake {{!}} Volunteerism in Japan|url=http://commons.trincoll.edu/japanvolunteerism/great-kanto-earthquake/|access-date=2020-08-27|language=en-US}}</ref> Four of NEC's factories were destroyed, killing 105 of NEC's engineers and workers. Thirteen of Tokyo's telephone offices were destroyed by fire. Telephone and telegraph service was interrupted by damage to telephone cables. In response, the Ministry of Communications accelerated major programs to install automatic telephone switching systems and enter radio broadcasting.<ref>{{Cite web|title=The 120-Year History of Oki Electric {{!}} Corporate Information {{!}} OKI Global|url=https://www.oki.com/en/profile/history/120y.html|access-date=2020-08-27|website=www.oki.com}}</ref>[https://arxiv.org/pdf/1604.00148.pdf] The first automatic switching systems were the [[Strowger switch|Strowger]]-type model made by Automatic Telephone Manufacturing Co. (ATM) in the United Kingdom. NEC participated in the installation of the automatic switching systems, ultimately becoming the general sales agent for ATM. NEC developed its own Strowger-type automatic switching system in 1924, the first in Japan. One of the plants almost leveled during the Kanto earthquake, the Mita Plant, was chosen to support expanding production. A new three-story steel-reinforced concrete building was built, starting in 1925. It was modeled after the [[Western Electric]] [[Hawthorne Works]].

NEC started its radio communications business in 1924. Japan's first radio broadcaster, Radio Tokyo was founded in 1924 and started broadcasting in 1925. NEC imported the broadcasting equipment from Western Electric.<ref>NEC 1984, p. 20</ref> The expansion of radio broadcasting into Osaka and Nagoya marked the emergence of radio as an Industry. NEC established a radio research unit in 1924. NEC started developing electron tubes in 1925. By 1930, they were manufacturing their first 500 W radio transmitter. They provided the Chinese Xinjing station with a 100&nbsp;kW radio broadcasting system in 1934.

Photo-telegraphic equipment developed by NEC transmitted photos of the accession ceremony of [[Hirohito|Emperor Hirohito]]. The ceremony was held in [[Kyoto]] in 1928. The Newspapers [[Asahi Shimbun]] and [[Mainichi Shimbun]] were competing to cover the ceremony. The Asahi Shimbun was using a [[Siemens]] device. The Mainichi was planning to use French photo-telegraphic equipment. In the end, both papers acquired and used the NEC product, due to its faster transmission rate and higher picture quality.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Vendor Network Architectures - Part XIX: NEC Unified Solutions|url=http://www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com/unified_communications/Vendor-Network-Architectures151Part-XIX-NEC-Unified-Solutions-3596431.htm|access-date=2020-08-27|website=www.enterprisenetworkingplanet.com|date=4 April 2006}}</ref>

In 1929 Nippon Electric provided Japan's Ministry of Communications with the A-type switching system, the first of these systems to be developed in Japan. Nippon supplied Japan's Ministry of Communications with nonloaded line carrier equipment for long-distance telephone channels in 1937.<ref>NEC 1984, p. 22</ref>