Thread by @Asakku9

I've done some extensive research about the arcade company Fuji Enterprise (フジ・エンタープライズ) and want to share it in this thread. Fuji Enterprise was one of many players in the 1970s arcade industry. It was also (in its own way...) one of the pioneers of video games.

There's a lot to tell. As a lot of information is still missing, there's also going to be a lot of guesswork. Feel free to share if you have more information.

According to Game Machine, Fuji was founded in June 1973 by Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三). It was preceded by a company called Blondie (ブロンディ) which went bankrupt in May 1973. It's not known when Blondie was founded, but there's a court ruling about the fact dating back to 1971

daihanrei.minorusan.net/l/%E6%9D%B1%E4…

Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三), future president (会長) of Fuji Enterprise, is involved in illegal gambling. He operated slot machines modified to cash in 100 yen coins rather than tokens.

Tokuzô Uragami is also a prominent member of the Himon'ya (碑文谷) crime syndicate, affiliated to Inagawa-kai and specializing in gambling.
Tokuzô Uragami was arrested by the police on April 5, 1971 on suspicion of involvement in the trade of modified Olympia Star machines.

Olympia Star :
He had been involved with the defendant since around 1967.
In other words, Fuji Enterprise was probably founded by a yakuza clan.segaretro.org/Olympia_Star

To understand the rest of the Fuji Enterprise story, we now need to put the pieces of a puzzle together.

According to an interview in the book "Jaleco's Archives", Yoshiaki Kanazawa, then president of a chain of restaurants called Japan Leisure (later Jaleco), had invested money in a business renting out jukeboxes, pinball machines, crane machines and so on.

The management of this business was very poor. The machines were even stolen from the warehouse. It went bankrupt in 1974. Yoshiaki Kanazawa took over the company in order to recover his money, but the company still owed 30 million to other creditors.

He hides his family and negotiates a debt repayment plan. As his restaurants are doing well, he manages to pay off the debt in 3 years.

What's this company that's gone bankrupt? Maybe it's the Oga Corporation. ( page 2). Oga Corporation is a sole proprietorship founded by Kazuki (Kazumi?) Ogawa (小川一公). onitama.tv/gamemachine/pd…

"The company has dealt extensively with domestically produced gaming machines and imported machines such as slot machines, but insiders believe it may have overextended its scope, making it difficult to settle its accounts. The total debt is said to be around 130 million yen

and among the creditors involved are Fuji Enterprise, Japan Leisure (ジャパンレジャー), Esco Trading (エスコ貿易), Ducks Trading (ダックス貿易), Kaishin Kôgyô (開進工業) and Cosmo Shôkai (コスモ商会)." Oga Corporation's bankruptcy most likely took place in September 1974.

From here, I'd like to talk about the games sold by Fuji Enterprise. I count 33, but there are probably some missing. After that, I'll continue talking about the company's history.

(1974)
Grand National (グランドナショナル)(electro-mechanical horse racing)
Big6 (ビッグ6)(electronic roulette table)
V6 (?)
Derby Triple (ダービートリプル)(medal game)
Oga Corporation used to sell a game called Derby Triple 300. Maybe it's the same one than Derby Triple.

These 4 games were presented on a joint stand with Tsumura (ツムラ).

(1975)
Fuji International Dreifach (フジ・インターナショナル・ドライファッハ) (1975)
Sounder Stop (サンダーストップ).
Fuji Harness Deluxe (フジ・ハーネスデラックス)(horse racing in 5, 10 or 20-player versions) Copy of Sega's Harness Race. .
...

(1975)
...
Medal Fighter (メダルファイター)(a money pusher with a pistol)
Jumbo Derby (ジャンボダービー)(electronic roulette)
Wonderful Six (ワンダフル・シクス)(?)
Fuji Derby Four (フジ・ダービー・フォー)

The Souder Stop game was already sold under the name Sander Boy (サンダーボーイ) in 1974 by Ace Kôgyô (エース工業), a Fuji Enterprise game distributor. Manufactured by Pavco. This game can also be found under the original name Wander Boy.

(1976)
Trot Boy (medal game)
Challenge Boy (チャレンジボーイ)(medal game?)
Miracle Table Race (ミラクルテーブルレース)(a little countertop medal game)
Boat Race (ボートレース)(Harness Race boat version)
...

(1976)
...
Fuji Speed Race (video game)
Fuji Raceway Deluxe (フジ・レースウェ・デラックス) (Speed Race Deluxe clone)
Kamikaze (神風)(video game)
Jet (ジェット)(video game)
Fuji Televi-Five (フジ・テレビファイブ)
...

(1976)
...
VTR Race (VTRレース)(EVR Race clone), also called Fuji Telebi Race Perfect (フジ・テレビレース・パーフェクト)
Fuji Terebi Race Personal Type (フジ・テレビレース・パーソナルタイプ) 1 player VTR Race
Fuji Electro Derby (フジ・エレクトロ・ダービー) 2 players VTR Race

Fuji Speed Race is a copy of Taitô's Speed Race. Fuji Enterprise exports the game to Australia (for Leisure and Allied Industries). It seems unlikely that Taitô would license a company with a dubious reputation to export its games abroad.

According to the book "Jaleco's Archives", Fuji Enterprise's video games were developed by Shôei (ショウエイ). According to Game Machine June 1, 1985 (page 13), Shôei began making video games for other companies in December 1975, which fits well.

Kamikaze (神風) the mini version is made with the same cabinet as Speed Race but with an airplane handle. There is an identical version called Air Fight (エアーファイト) and sold by Pearl Denki (ペール・デンキ), the predecessor company to Logitec ().blog.goo.ne.jp/nazox2016/e/d3…

The simplest explanation (but not necessarily the right one) is that Shôei sold its games to several different companies.
Jet is a copy of Atari's Jet Fighter.
Fuji Televi-Five (フジ・テレビファイブ)(a box that connects to a TV screen and lets you play 5 Breakout variants)

(1977)
The Super Car (ザ・スパーカー)
Blue Impulse (ブルーインパルス)
Block Cut (ブロックカット)(video game) A wall-breaker
Mars Trek (pinball)
Butterfly (pinball)
Monster (モンスター)

The Super Car and Blue Impulse are two medal games developed by Nichibutsu.

These are not copies but licensed games, as Fuji Enterprise lists Nichibutsu as one of its main business partners in the AM 78 Yearbook (along with Sega, Nihon Vending (日本ベンディング), and Japan Leisure (ジャパンレジャー)( -> page 138)archive.org/details/1978-1…

The photo clearly shows two Segasa pinball machines: Mars Trek and Butterfly. One of the two video games is called Monster, but in the photo the name begins with "The". (), It is a game imported by Segasa, but could it be that Segasa actually developed it? segaretro.org/Segasa

(1978)
Magic Box (マジックボックス)(video game)
Magic Pinball (マジックフリッパー)(video game)
Table Block (テーブル・ブロック)(video game)
Block Shinkishû (ブロック新機種)(video game)

These games were supposed to be presented at the 1978 Amusement Machine Show. I'm not sure what Table Block and Block Shinkishû are. Are these real game names?

Magic Box is special. These were vertical machines with slot compartments built into terminals with Atari game consoles, such as Video Computer System (VCS) and Video Pinball, imported from Tôyô Bussan (東洋物産), plugged in from home TVs.

The machine was available in color or b&w, and the game itself could be used with either. The main advantage of this machine was that several game cassettes could be replaced in a single machine, and a single game cassette could be used for a number of different games.

There are several versions of Magic Box. One was Magic Flipper, which had the buttons on the sides, like a pinball machine.
It seems that Magic Box caused problems for Fuji Enterprise.

(1979)
(?) Fuji Invader (フジ・インベーダー)
I read here and there that Fuji Enterprise marketed its version of Space Invader before going bankrupt, but I have no information.

Now, I'd like to pick up the Fuji Enterprise Story where we left it in 1974 and go right up to its bankruptcy in 1979.

Fuji Enterprise and Tsumura (ツムラ)(an arcade game distributor) were closely linked from 1974 to the end of 1976. They shared the same representatives during the creation of the Osaka Medal Game Association. They shared a booth at the 1974 and 1975 Amusement Machine Show.

In 1975, the president(社長に) of Fuji Enterprise was Takeo Ueyama(上山武夫).

The Fuji Enterprise group comprises:
- Fuji Enterprise
- Fuji Enterprise Sapporo
- Fuji Lease (フジ・リース): an operator of game centers (25 in 1975).
- Jônan Blondie (城南ブロンデイ): unknown business. It disappeared without explanation around mid-1976.

In 1977, we also see Fuji Enterprise - Shikoku and Fuji Enterprise - Kawasaki.

In Game Machine (1976/05/15), Fuji Enterprise made an announcement: "We regret to inform you that our president, Mr. Takeo Ueyama, resigned and retired on April 20 due to personal circumstances. He will no longer be associated with the company in any way."

In Game Machine (1976/07/01), there is an advertisement to introduce RJ Corporation (アールジェイコーポレーション).

Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫), former president of Fuji Enterprise, states: "I am pleased to announce that I have been appointed representative director of the new company with the kind permission of Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三), president of Fuji Enterprise, ...

...
Momoji Tsumura (津村三百次), president of Tsumura, and Tetsushi Matsumoto (松元哲士), president of Kansai Kigyô. " RJ Corporation thus appears to be a joint venture between these three companies.

In Game Machine (1976/08/01), RJ Corporation is made up of the Tôkyô branch, the Ôsaka branch and Taitô (泰東)(a distributor that belonged to the Kansai Kigyô group, no connection with the famous game developer).

Nothing more is heard of RJ Corporation after the end of 1976. It seems that after the failure of RJ Corporation, Fuji Enterprise, Tsumura and Kansai Kigyô distanced themselves.

In Game Machine (1976/10/15), Fuji Enterprise announced that it wanted to take advantage of the AM Show to improve its reputation.

In Game Machine (1978/02/01), the Sapporo branch became independent with Yûgen Kaisha (有限会社) status, known simply as Fuji Enteprise (フジ・エンタープライズ). Its chairman until then had been main branch president Masateru (Masaki?) Yamada (山田昌照).

In Game Machine (1978/11/15), on the Fuji Enterprise stand at the AM Show, there were no products from the company. Instead Daichi Bussan (大知物産)(karaoke), Lester (レスター), Shin Hankyû Shôji (新阪急商事) and Uni Enterprise (ユニエンター) exhibited their own products.

In Game Machine (1979/03/01), Fuji Enterprise went bankrupt in February 1979. Total debt is around 550 million yen. The sentence is truncated, but it seems that the "Magic Box" released in spring 1978 proved "fatal".

In Game Machine (1979/06/15), Fuji Lease went bankrupt in May 1979. It had been created in June 1975 and managed game centers. Total debt was 50 million yen.

What happened to Fuji Enterprise after the bankruptcy? According to the book "Jaleco's Archives", "after Fuji Enterprise went bankrupt around 1977, Japan Leisure bought the company.
...

...
The Shôei company (ショウエイ), which had been developing video games for Fuji Enterprise, then began developing them for Japan Leisure".

The problem is that Fuji Enterprise went bankrupt in 1979 and also that the first Shôei game sold by Japan Leisure was Pile Break (パイルブレーキ) in 1978. So we're not sure what happened to Fuji Enterprise.

Fuji Lease's game centers were transferred to other companies, some as early as 1977. However, we can see that several belong to TM Planning (ティー・エム・プランニング), whose president Takeshi Miyaoka (宮岡武司) is a former president of Fuji Enterprise.

Maybe it's unrelated, but Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫), after serving as president of Fuji Enterprise until April 1976, then president of RJ Corporation until August 25, 1976, becomes General Manager (専務) of Mars Japan (a seller of medal games and jukeboxes) in the fall of 1977.

He left Mars Japan in December 1977 and Mars Japan went bankrupt around May 1978.

Subsequently, he founded TMK (ティーエムケイ)(karaoke seller) and TIM (ティー・アイ・エム)(game seller) in parallel. In 1982, Namco accused TIM of selling a copy of Dig Dug. The police made a seizure and TIM disappeared. TMK went bankrupt in 1986.

Addresses, based on issues of Game Machine magazine

Fuji Enterprise
(March 20, 1975): 東京都新宿区北新宿一の七の二十一, 高沢ビル
(December 1, 1976): 東京都大田区南千束二の一の六
(November 1, 1977): 東京都大田区東雪ヵ谷二の三十五の一
(March 1, 1979): 東京都大田区東雪ヵ谷

Fuji Enterprise - Sapporo
(March 20, 1975): 札幌市豊平区平岸二条三の七の七十一
(April 10, 1975): 札幌市豊平区平岸2条3-71
(February 1, 1978): 札幌市豊平区平岸一条七の三の六 一〇八 (becomes Fuji Enteprise (Yûgen Kaisha) ((有限会社)フジ・エンタープライズ))

Jônan Blondie (城南ブロンデイ)
(April 10, 1975): 東京都大田区池上1-26-12
(July 1, 1975): 東京都大田区東糀谷三の十三の十、第一三喜ハイツ
Last mention on July 1, 1976

Fuji Lease
(April 30, 1975): 東京都渋谷区本町5-37-12
(July 1, 1976): 東京都新宿区北新宿一ー七ー二十一、高沢ビル
(December 1, 1976): 東京都大田区東雪谷一の一の五 (Tôkyô-to, Ôta-ku, Higashi-Yukigaya 1-1-5)(now called ブロンディビル)
(June 15, 1979): 東京都大田区東雪ヵ谷

Fuji Enterprise - Shikoku
(January 15, 1977): 松山市松前町二の四の一 (Matsuyama-shi, Masakichô, 2-4-1)

Fuji Enterprise - Kawasaki
(August 1, 1977): 神奈川県川崎市高津区坂戸250 (Kanagawa-ken, Kawasaki-shi, Takatsu-ku, Sakado 250)

RJ Corporation (アール・ジェイ・コーポレーション)
(May 15, 1976): 東京都新宿区西谷三の六、熊沢ビル
Last mention on November 15, 1976

RJ Corporation Ôsaka (アールジェイコーポレーション大阪)
(August 1, 1976): 大阪市北区与力町2丁目５２番地
Last mention on November 15, 1976

Mars Japan
(October 1, 1977): 東京都目黒区上目黒2丁目4番11号, 華光ビル (Tôkyô-to, Meguro-ku, Ue-Meguro 2-4-11, Kakô Bldg)
(May 1, 1978): 東京都練馬区 (Tôkyô-to, Nerima-ku) (Bankruptcy)
(AM 1978 Yearbook): 東京都練馬区羽沢 1-20 (Tôkyô-to, Nerima-ku, Hazawa 1-20)

Presidents, based on issues of Game Machine magazine

Fuji Enterprise
(June 1, 1975) : Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫)
(March 15, 1976): same / Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三) chairman (会長)
(May 15, 1976): resignation of Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫)
(June 1, 1976): Yoshimitsu Suzuki (鈴木芳光)..

...
(July 15, 1976) : same
(October 1, 1976) : Masateru (Masaki?) Yamada (山田昌照)
(January 1, 1978) : same
(November 1, 1978) : Masaaki Yamada (山田正晃)
(March 1st 1979) : same / in May 1973 : Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三)(社長)

Fuji Enterprise - Sapporo
(March 20, 1975): Masaaki Yamada (山田正晃)
(July 15, 1976) : idem
(February 1, 1978): Masateru (Masaki?) Yamada (山田昌照)(becomes Fuji Enteprise (Yûgen Kaisha) ((有限会社)フジ・エンタープライズ))

Fuji Lease (フジ・リース)
(December 1, 1976) : Takeshi Miyaoka (宮岡武司)
(June 15, 1979) : Tokuzô Uragami (浦上徳三)(社長)

RJ Corporation (アール・ジェイ・コーポレーション)
(July 1, 1976): Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫)
(October 15, 1976): resignation of Takeo Ueyama (上山武夫) on August 25, 1976
(November 15, 1976): dismissal of Masayuki(?) Miyazaki (宮崎誠之)(president?) on October 30, 1976

Mars Japan
(May 1, 1978): Masao Watanabe (渡辺正雄)(Bankruptcy)

That's all. Please share if you have more information :)

"The Monster" is a version of Death Race (Exidy) by Segasa (Spain). At the same time, Bonanza Enterprises was importing Death Race to Japan directly from the USA. This was forbidden because Bonanza had not submitted the product to MITI for approval.recreativas.org/the-monster-85…

Information found on the wonderful website Earlyarcadejapan :
Fuji Enterprise sold a medal game named Mini Derby (ミニダービー) in 1976 or earlier. earlyarcadesjapan.blogspot.com/2023/08/mini-d…

An auction site () has an ad for a Mini Derby game. On the back of the game is this sticker. It indicates the importer or manufacturer of the game. This is Ômori Denki (大森電気) (probably the future video game maker). sav.tfilberthdi.top/index.php?main…

The electrical approval number associated with this medal game is 91-9368. This number can also be found on the Stage Girl medal game flyer (ステージ・ガール) sold by Bally Service. Same number, same maker (Ômori Denki).