Akio Morita,Morita Akio, January 26, 1921 in Tokoname, Aichi, Japan – October 3, 1999 in Tokyo) was a co-founder of Sony Corporation with his friend Masaru Ibuka (April 11, 1908 - December 19, 1997). Morita's family was involved in sake, miso and soy sauce production in the Chita Peninsula, Aichi Prefecture since 1665. He was the oldest of four siblings and his father Kyuzaemon trained him as a child to take over the family business. Akio, however, found his true calling in mathematics and physics, and in 1944 he graduated from Osaka Imperial University with a degree in physics. He later joined the navy and served as a lieutenant during World War II. During his service, Morita methis future partner Masaru Ibuka in the Navy's Wartime Research Committee. On May 7, 1946, Morita and Ibuka founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo Kabushiki Kaisha(Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation, the forerunner to Sony Corporation) with about 20 employees and initial capital of ¥190,000.Ibuka was 38 years old, Morita 25. Morita's family invested in Sony during the early period and was the largest shareholder.
In 1949, the company developed magnetic recording tape and in 1950, sold the first tape recorder in Japan. In 1957, it produced a pocket-sized radio (the first to be fully-transistorized) and in 1958 Morita and Ibuka made the decision to rename their company Sony (sonus is Latin for sound, and Sonny-boys is Japanese slang for "whiz kids"). Morita was an advocate for all the products made by the Sony Corporation. He helped sell his new radio by claiming that it was "pocket sized" and had the ability to fit in a normal shirt pocket. However, the radio was slightly too big to fit in a shirt pocket, so Morita made his business men wear shirts with slightly larger pockets giving the radio a "pocket sized" appearance. In 1960 it produced the first transistor television in the world. In 1975 it released the first Betamax home video recorder, a year before VHS came out. In 1979 the Walkman was introduced, making it the world's first portable music player. In 1984 Sony launched the Discman series which extended their Walkman brand to portable CD products.
In 1960, the Sony Corporation of America was established in the United States. In 1961, the Sony Corporation of America was the first Japanese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange. Sony bought Columbia Records and other CBS labels in 1988 and Columbia Pictures in 1989.
On November 25, 1994, Morita resigned as Sony chairman after suffering a cerebral hemorrhage while playing tennis. His successor, Norio Ohga, had joined the company after sending Morita a letter denouncing the poor quality of the company's tape recorders.
He was awarded the Albert Medal from the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Arts in 1982, the first Japanese to receive the honor. Two years later, he received the prestigious National Order of the Legion of Honor and in 1991, he was awarded the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan. Akio Morita suffered a stroke in 1993, during a game of tennis. On October 3, 1999, Morita died of pneumonia at the age of 78.
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