The deal, signed in Cannes last week, will be the Dunedin-based television production company's biggest co-production agreement, ensuring it had a full work calendar until 2010.
"Things are looking good," NHNZ managing director Michael Stedman said.
Previously, NHNZ had worked with NHK on the Wild Asia and Equator series, and the agreement came after two years of negotiations, he said.
With a working title Weird Edens, the six episode series promises to be one of the biggest natural history productions made.
The series would show six different environments, from the tropical savanna of Brazil to the great lakes of Africa and would be "natural history for the new millennium".
The co-production would feature the film-makers of NHK, who were pioneers of the latest high-definition equipment, with NHNZ completing post-production, blending footage with computer graphics, visual effects and sound.
The success of the company was built around people who "were as good as anywhere else in the world".
"We are not good at saying that as Kiwis, but this group stands out," he said.
NHK executive producer Shinichi Murata said Weird Edens had the potential to be a ratings winner when it screens at the end of 2010.
"This series represents a true collaboration of stories and styles which we are confident will result in another remarkable series," he said.
