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Mr. Electronics: Morita Brings Sony to Life

Article Overview: World War II may have ended, but for many countries, the years following proved to be the even more difficult ones. Japan was one of those countries. Almost every single large city in Japan had been damaged, along with their industries and transportation networks. Food shortages were rampant, not to mention the fact that nearly 3 million able bodied workers had been killed during the war. In short, Japan was devastated and, if it was going to recover, it would have to start rebuilding from scratch.

Mr. Electronics: Morita Brings Sony to Life

World War II may have ended, but for many countries, the years following proved to be the even more difficult ones. Japan was one of those countries. Almost every single large city in Japan had been damaged, along with their industries and transportation networks. Food shortages were rampant, not to mention the fact that nearly 3 million able bodied workers had been killed during the war. In short, Japan was devastated and, if it was going to recover, it would have to start rebuilding from scratch.

But, Morita was confident that his country could not only pull through, but could also become a leader in the global marketplace, and he wanted to be one of the ones to help. He began to talk with his good friend Ibuka about how they could put their combined knowledge of physics and engineering to some use.

In 1946, Morita and Ibuka finally found a solution; they created the Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation). Based in Nagoya, Japan, the company was established with initial capital of just $350 in a bombed-out shop that had been abandoned after the war. Even after hiring 20 employees, Morita and Ibuka were still not exactly sure what products their business would focus on as of yet, but what they did know was that they wanted to create innovative and high-quality consumer electronic products that would put Japan back on the map. No longer would the tag “Made in Japan” necessarily mean low-quality and cheap products.

At the time, Morita was just 25 years old, but his age proved no obstacle on his company’s massive rise to success. In 1949, Morita and Ibuka developed a magnetic recording tape, which led to their first product the next year – the tape recorder. It was the first ever of its kind to be sold in Japan. So far, Morita and Ibuka were doing modestly well in their home country of Japan. But, Morita wanted more.

“I knew we needed a weapon to break through to the U.S. market,” Morita later told TIME Magazine, “and it had to be something different, something that nobody else was making.” That something different came in the form of a walkman. In 1957, the duo’s company released a pocket-sized radio, which was the world’s first full-transistorized radio. In order to broaden its appeal to the Western world, Morita and Ibuka also changed their company’s name to Sony (a combination of sonus – the Latin word for ‘sound’ – and Sonny – a mainstream American nickname).

In 1961, the Sony Corporation of America became the first Japanese company to ever be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Over the years, as the company continued to develop new and innovative consumer electronic products, such as the CD player, and the digital audio tape player, it also expanded its reach by acquiring such other companies as Columbia Pictures and CBS Records.

In 1994, Morita suffered a cerebral hemorrhage while playing tennis, and subsequently announced his resignation as Sony chairman. He continued to work, writing a book called “Never Mind School Records,” which emphasized that success is not dependent on one’s school grades. Morita also published an autobiography, called “Made in Japan.”

Five years later, at the age of 78, Morita died of pneumonia. His legacy lives on in the company he founded, the company that continues to be one of the world’s most renowned manufacturers of consumer electronics.

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Article Tags: consumer electronic products, engineering corporation, food shortages, global marketplace, good friend, initial capital, kabushiki kaisha, lifeworld, low quality, magnetic recording, massive rise, morita, nagoya japan, obstacle, quality consumer, s market, tape recorder, telecommunications engineering, transportation networks, war ii



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