Nikkei, Inc.'s current holdings include companies in books, magazines to digital media, database services, broadcasting, and other activities such as economic/cultural events.

This symbiotic relationship between the government and national newspapers and broadcasters leads publications to "avoiding any actual confrontation with the administration".

According to reporters such as Shusuke Murai and Reiji Yoshida from The Japan Times, the Nikkei was "depending too much on leaks — apparently provided by corporate insiders" and that the paper was "often seen as reluctant to bluntly criticize Japanese firms.

It also makes many of its Japanese articles available in English through wire services, an English-language website, and a licensing agreement with LexisNexis.

Nikkei agreed on 23 July 2015 to buy the UK-based FT Group, which includes business daily Financial Times, for the equivalent of $1.32 billion from Pearson PLC.