Akio Morita

Akio Morita (盛田 昭夫, Morita Akio) was a Japanese businessman and co-founder of Sony Corporation, one of the largest and most influential electronics companies in the world. Alongside his co-founder Masaru Ibuka, Morita transformed a small post-war electronics workshop into a global technology giant and played a central role in changing the world's perception of "Made in Japan" from a mark of cheap imitation to a symbol of quality and innovation.

Morita is perhaps best known for championing the development of the Sony Walkman, which revolutionized how people listened to music and became one of the most successful consumer electronics products in history, with over 200 million units sold worldwide.

In 1998, Time magazine named Morita one of the 20 most influential business people of the 20th century - the only Asian person on the list.

Early life and education

Morita was born on January 26, 1921, in Nagoya, Japan, as the eldest of four children. His family had been involved in the production of sake, miso, and soy sauce in the village of Kosugaya on the western coast of the Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture since 1665 - a business spanning fifteen generations. As the firstborn son, Morita was expected to take over the family enterprise.

His father, Kyuzaemon Morita, trained him from childhood to assume leadership of the family business. However, young Morita's interests lay elsewhere. Influenced by his mother's love of classical music - his family was one of the first in Japan to own an RCA Victrola - he developed a keen interest in electronics and sound reproduction.

Morita became so engrossed in electronic experiments, including building his own ham radio, that he nearly failed out of school. After a year of concentrated study, he gained admission to the prestigious Eighth Higher School as a physics major.

Rather than be drafted at the beginning of World War II, Morita entered Osaka Imperial University (now Osaka University), agreeing to serve in the navy upon graduation. From 1940 to 1944, he studied applied physics under the distinguished specialist Tsunesaburo Asada. He graduated with a degree in physics in 1944.

Military service and meeting Ibuka

Following graduation, Morita was commissioned as a sub-lieutenant in the Imperial Japanese Navy, where he worked as a technician on research related to heat-seeking devices. During his naval service, he met Masaru Ibuka, an engineer 13 years his senior, at the Navy's Wartime Research Committee study group for developing infrared-guided bombs (Ke-Go). The two formed a bond that would lead to one of the most successful business partnerships in history.

Career

Founding Sony

On May 7, 1946, Morita (age 25) and Ibuka (age 38) founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corporation), with approximately 20 employees and initial capital of 190,000 yen. While Ibuka focused on engineering and product development, Morita concentrated on financial and business matters and was responsible for marketing the company's products worldwide.

The company's early achievements included:

• 1949: Developed magnetic recording tape
• 1950: Sold the first tape recorder in Japan
• 1950s: Secured licensing of transistor technology from Bell Labs, making Sony one of the first companies to apply transistor technology to non-military uses
• 1957: Produced the first fully transistorized pocket-sized radio

In 1958, Morita and Ibuka renamed the company "Sony," choosing a name that would be pronounceable in any language, derived from the Latin "sonus" meaning "sound."

International expansion

In 1961, under Morita's direction, Sony became the first Japanese company to list its shares on the New York Stock Exchange, a landmark moment that signaled Japan's emergence as a force in global business.

Morita was instrumental in establishing Sony's presence in the United States. He moved his family to New York in the 1960s to better understand the American market and culture, an unusual step for a Japanese executive of that era. This experience informed his approach to international business and helped Sony become a truly global brand.

Leadership of Sony

Morita became president of Sony in 1971, taking over from Ibuka who had served since 1950. When Ibuka retired in 1976, Morita was named chairman of the company.

The Walkman

Morita's most enduring contribution to consumer electronics was his championing of the Sony Walkman. He got the inspiration for the portable music player by observing his children and their friends listening to music constantly, and noting how people listened to music in their cars and carried large stereos to beaches and parks.

Sony's engineering department initially opposed the concept of a tape player without a recording function, believing it would not sell. Retail stores also expressed doubts. Morita declared that if 30,000 of these machines could not be sold, he would resign as company president.

The first Walkman launched in July 1979 and quickly became a worldwide phenomenon. Initially, Sony America changed the name to "Soundabout" in the U.S., "Freestyle" in Sweden, and "Stowaway" in Britain. When sales in these countries proved slower than expected, Morita standardized the name universally to "Sony Walkman." By 2000, over 200 million Walkmans had been sold worldwide.

Controversies

"The Japan That Can Say No"

In 1991, Morita co-authored the book The Japan That Can Say No (日本が「ノー」と言える日本) with right-wing politician Shintaro Ishihara. The book criticized American business practices and encouraged Japan to take a more independent role in international business and foreign affairs.

The book caused significant controversy in the United States. Although most of the more extreme nationalist statements were attributed to Ishihara, critics blamed Morita for arrogance and anti-American sentiment. The book was translated unofficially and distributed by the CIA. An outraged congressman placed the entire text in the Congressional Record for publicity. Bookstores reported that customers "went crazy" searching for bootleg copies.

Morita's specific criticisms included:

• Arguing that the United States was "busy training lawyers" while Japan was "busy training engineers"
• Criticizing American executives for focusing on "this year's profit" rather than long-term growth
• Warning against "hollowing out" the American economy by moving manufacturing overseas
• Condemning the practice of laying off workers without remorse

Fearing a backlash that could harm Sony's American business, Morita did not allow his portion of the work to appear in the official English translation. He subsequently distanced himself from Ishihara's more extreme positions in articles for publications such as The Atlantic Monthly, asserting that he sought the deregulation of the Japanese economy rather than confrontation with the United States.

Business philosophy debates

Morita's criticism of American short-term business thinking and advocacy for Japanese-style management generated ongoing debate. He praised "familialism" and loyalty to the company as facilitating long-range planning and investment, arguing that manufacturing determines economic strength. Critics accused him of unfairly characterizing American business practices while overlooking problems in Japanese corporate culture.

Personal life

Marriage and family

Morita married Yoshiko Kamei on May 13, 1950. Together they had three children: sons Hideo and Masao, and daughter Naoko.

Yoshiko Morita contributed significantly to her husband's career through what she described as "Omotenashi Spirit" (the heart of hospitality), managing their social environment as Morita navigated the international business world. Morita was reportedly a strict traditionalist at home, expecting his wife to manage social obligations when needed but otherwise remain in the background - a reflection of his traditional Japanese upbringing.

Later years and death

Morita was an avid golfer and tennis player. In 1993, during a game of tennis, he suffered a stroke that left him weakened and wheelchair-bound for the remainder of his life. On November 25, 1994, he stepped down as Sony chairman.

Morita died of pneumonia in Tokyo on October 3, 1999, at the age of 78. He was posthumously awarded the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun.

Legacy

Morita left an enduring legacy in global business:

• Transformed the perception of "Made in Japan" from a mark of cheap imitation to a symbol of quality and innovation
• Pioneered Japanese corporate expansion into Western markets
• Championed consumer electronics innovation that changed how people interact with technology
• Established management philosophies emphasizing long-term thinking and employee loyalty

In 2003, Anaheim University's Graduate School of Business was renamed the Akio Morita School of Business in his honor.

Publications

• Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony (1986), autobiography written with Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura
• The Japan That Can Say No (1991), co-authored with Shintaro Ishihara

Awards and honors

• 1982 - Albert Medal, Royal Society of Arts (first Japanese recipient)
• 1984 - Legion of Honour, France
• 1991 - First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure, Japan
• 1998 - Named one of 20 most influential business people of the 20th century by Time
• 1999 - Grand Cordon of the Order of the Rising Sun (posthumous)

See also

• Sony
• Masaru Ibuka
• Sony Walkman
• Made in Japan: Akio Morita and Sony
• Japanese economic miracle

External links

• The Akio Morita official website
• Akio Morita Library
• Sony Corporation