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Akio Morita

Akio Morita: A Founder Who Revolutionized the Electronics Industry

Akio Morita was born in January 1921 in Nagoya, Japan. He was destined to run his family’s traditional sake brewing business, a tradition common among eldest sons at that time in Japan. Akio was different from most firstborn children, however: he loved science, with a special interest in physics and mathematics. It was these interests that led him away from the path most were on.

The course that life was going to take for Morita drastically changed after graduating with a degree in physics from Osaka Imperial University in 1944. He then entered into the Imperial Japanese Navy during the years of World War II. During this period, he met Masaru Ibuka, an engineer of the same passion and creating.

This was the inspiration for what would eventually become a company that changed electronics forever. In 1946, just after the end of the war, Morita and Ibuka founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K., which started with only 20 employees and modest capital of 190,000 yen. A small beginning led to a company that later became a worldwide giant in technology, Sony.

In its early years, Morita and Ibuka designed Japan’s first magnetic tape recorder. It marked the company’s innovation that placed it on the world map. They did not just stop there. They continued striving for innovation and, by 1957, produced the first totally transistorized, pocket-sized radio. This captured the international market and launched Sony’s overseas expansion drive.

Morita started Sony operations in the U.S. in 1960. This was considered a very risky for a Japanese venture back at the time. He also branded it under the name “Sony”, a name that was later to be identified with innovation. In the same year, they launched the first ever transistor television in the world, thus ensuring its reputation as an industry leader.

But it was the Walkman, launched by Sony in 1979, that literally shook up the world. It was not only a gadget but changed the game. A whole culture of personal entertainment sprang to life: listening to music on the move. It was the first time in human history that music became a very personal experience instead of being an altogether conventional activity.

The snowballing success for Sony continued, but in 1973, it added another trophy: its Trinitron TV technology won the company an Emmy. The Discman arrived in 1984, stretching Sony’s reach into the portable music market. By the time Sony went into the music and film businesses, purchasing CBS Records Inc. and Columbia Pictures Entertainment Inc., it was apparent that this company was more than just an electronics maker.

However, Morita was concerned not only with electronics but had a vision of the company at a much broader level. In 1979, Sony entered the financial industry by setting up Sony Prudential Life Insurance Co. Ltd. This was an indication of the diversification and studying of other markets by Morita.

Beyond the gains achieved in business, Morita was a world leader. He played a key role in the development of economic relationships between Japan and the U.S. and chaired the Trilateral Commission, a commission that seeks to enhance cooperation between North America, Europe, and Asia. His reach did not stop at the boardroom he had a hand in shaping international economic policy.

He received numerous awards throughout his life. In 1984, he received the Legion of Honor from France, and in 1991, the Emperor of Japan bestowed the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure on him. These were a testament to the fact that Morita had significantly influenced not only Japan but the world at large.

Even when he resigned as the chairman of Sony due to health reasons in 1994, Morita’s influence does not seem to have waned. He died in October of 1999 but lives on in the record books as an industrial visionary. His decisions for outright boldness, creative thinking, and out of the box approaches have left an imprint on technology and culture that resonates today.

Akio Morita, in the light of the journey that gave him a break from the order of traditional family-based businesses to co-found one of the most renowned electronics brands in the world, will tell us the themes of innovation and vision that lead people to crush the mold of tradition with their non-stop drive and relentless urge to defy the established in the world. He made us realize that true success is found in becoming bold enough to dream big and do whatever it takes to make that dream come alive.