IREM SOFTWARE ENGINEERING, INC.
Japanese coinop videogame company, famous for the seminal side scrolling shoot-'em-up R-Type, as well as many other games in that genre that share its biomechanical style. From their sparse website, it would appear that their arcade business is no longer operational, although there are some references to Pachinko products. The latest additions to their software lineup are versions of R-Type for the Sony Playstation and a puzzle game called Gussun Paradise / Yoyo's Puzzle Park. Irem tried their hand at games in a lot of different genres throughout the 80's and 90's.
Irem's house style can be summed up as 'gritty'. Decaying concrete, grisly organic outcroppings, murky water, flocks of scavenging crows... if there's a Japanese equivalent to Yorkshire, I would bet money that that's where Irem are based.
http://www.irem.co.jp/