It is based in Tokyo, Japan and is owned by Nippon Express Holdings (TYO: 9147).

The company was established in 1937 in line with the Nippon Tsu-un Kaisha Law as a semi-government transportation service by pooling the assets of Kokusai Tsu-un KK (International Express Co., Ltd.), which consolidated many of the nation's small-scale rail transport companies, and six other competitors, with additional funding from the Japanese government.

[4] At the end of 2013, Nippon Express Co., Ltd. bought 67 percent of Panasonic Logistics, which is owned by Japanese electronics group Panasonic Corp.[5][6] Nippon Express indicated in September, 2017, its plan to raise 100 billion yen[7] in debt capital over two years to consolidate several warehouses in the Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya regions.

The company also planned to install labor-saving equipment, and to build transit warehouses in overseas locations, such as Thailand, Malaysia, and Indonesia.

The company has used "NX," the shortened form of NIPPON EXPRESS, as the group brand.