Niijima opened his own design studio in Tokyo in 1977. Three years later he travelled to the USA to continue his study of graphic design, typography and book design at the graduate programme at Yale University. He received his MFA in 1983. When he returned to Japan, he held an exhibition in Tokyo and opened Minoru Niijima Design Studio. He became a committee member of the Japan Typography Association the following year. In 2003, he held an exhibition called ‘Interaction of Colours and Fonts’ at Ginza Graphic Gallery (GGG) in Tokyo. He is currently a professor at Musashino Art University, in the Visual Communication and Design Department.