Index Corporation

Index Corporation (株式会社インデックス) was a Japanese company founded in September 1995 as Nozaaku B.N. Co., Ltd. and renamed Index Corporation in 1997 under president Masami Ochiai, a former Nissho Iwai executive. The company initially focused on internet and mobile phone content production and distribution, and grew through aggressive acquisitions into a holding company, Index Holdings Corporation, in June 2006. Its businesses spanned digital games (including the Atlus brand), content and solutions, amusement machines, and music publishing. Index was listed on JASDAQ in December 2004. After years of financial difficulties, including five consecutive years of net losses through August 2012, the company filed for civil rehabilitation in June 2013 with liabilities of approximately 24.6 billion yen. Its main businesses were sold to Sega (via Sega Dream) in November 2013, and the old company was declared bankrupt on July 31, 2014, with its legal entity dissolved on August 3, 2016. The fraud scandal led to the arrest and conviction of Masami Ochiai and his wife Yoshimi Ochiai for falsifying financial statements.

Index Corporation was established in September 1995 as Nozaaku B.N. Co., Ltd. In 1997, Masami Ochiai, a former executive of Nissho Iwai who left after a dispute over the company's presidential succession, became president and renamed the company Index Corporation. Under Ochiai, Index entered the mobile content business in October 1997. The company grew through acquisitions and investments: in 2001 it established Nouvelle Go (later Jack Media Capital) and acquired Streaming Media Communications (renamed Index Solutions in 2003, later Tech Index). In 2002 it co-developed the Bowlingual dog translation device with Takara. In 2003 it invested in Gakken, and in 2004 it acquired Madhouse, NEC Interchannel (later Interchannel), and Honda Electron (later Net Index, then Nex). It also invested in Grenoble Foot 38, a French football club. In December 2004, Index listed on JASDAQ. In 2005 it acquired Takara shares from Konami, participated in the Takara-Tomy merger, acquired Nikkatsu from Namco, and formed various joint ventures. In June 2006, the company changed its name to Index Holdings Corporation and transitioned to a holding company structure, establishing a new Index Corporation to inherit all operations. The group continued to expand but faced financial difficulties. By 2012, it had recorded five consecutive years of net losses. In June 2013, Index filed for civil rehabilitation after revealing a 14.9 billion yen debt excess and a suspected accounting fraud. The company's main businesses, including Atlus, were sold to Sega in November 2013. The old company was declared bankrupt on July 31, 2014, and its legal entity was dissolved on August 3, 2016. The fraud scandal led to the arrest and conviction of Masami and Yoshimi Ochiai.

• Founded as Nozaaku B.N. Co., Ltd.

• Renamed Index Corporation

• Entered mobile content business

• Listed on over-the-counter market

• Co-developed Bowlingual with Takara

• Listed on JASDAQ

• Renamed Index Holdings Corporation and transitioned to holding company structure

• Filed for civil rehabilitation

• Sold main businesses to Sega

• Bankruptcy proceedings commenced

• Legal entity dissolved

Diversified mobile and digital content group with game publishing and technology subsidiaries.

• Bowlingual

  Dog translation device developed with Takara

• Atlus games

  Digital games published under Atlus brand

• 2026.10.21

  Reported2026.10.21

  Flapping Airplanes raises $1 billion Series A[3]Flapping Airplanes 融资 10 亿美元 A 轮techcrunch.com

  Flapping Airplanes announced that it had raised a $1 billion Series A round, co-led by Index and Lux, reportedly at a $6 billion valuation.

• 2021.06.10

  Reported2021.06.11

  Niyo acquires personal finance startup Index[4]Niyo收购个人理财初创公司Indexglamsham.com

  Niyo said it had acquired Bengaluru-based personal finance startup Index for an undisclosed sum; Index's team, including its founders, will join Niyo.

Read more

1. 1Index Corporation - Wikidatawikidata.org
2. 2インデックス・ホールディングス - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org
3. 3Flapping Airplanes 融资 10 亿美元 A 轮techcrunch.com
4. 4Niyo收购个人理财初创公司Indexglamsham.com