
Its origins date back to 1949, when a former military officer, Kihachiro Onitsuka , founded Onitsuka Co. in Kobe, Japan. For Onitsuka, nothing was more important than sport and health, and in the 1950s, he set out to provide young Japanese with suitable footwear to encourage them to participate in sports. In the late 1970s, the company changed its name to ASICS, an acronym for the Latin expression "Anima Sana In Corpore Sano," meaning "A healthy mind in a healthy body." Since its inception, ASICS has developed a large number of innovations, many of which have contributed to record-breaking events in sports around the world. Each generation of footwear reflects the company's founder, Onitsuka,'s strong commitment to combining technology and design with comfort and performance. ASICS has patented many of its inventions in Japan and abroad. In 1985, ASICS founded the ASICS Institute of Sport Science in Kobe . ASICS is the company's research and development center, which aims to develop technologies that reflect the company's commitment to human-centered science and sports innovation. In recent years, ASICS has expanded the scope of the Institute's work and, consequently, its R&D capabilities. Today, ASICS continues to develop technologies to improve the quality and performance of athletic footwear. The company holds a significant portfolio of intellectual property rights to protect its investments in these technologies and fund future R&D activities.