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Akio Morita
Sony · Nagoya, Japan
Son of a sake brewer who chose electronics. Built post-war Japan's first global consumer-electronics brand on miniaturization and design.
MiniaturizationBrand globalizationDesign taste
Company
Sony
Journey
Moves that mattered.
- 1946Co-founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo — later Sony.
- 1955Built Japan's first transistor radio.
- 1979Launched the Walkman. Changed how the world heard music.
- 1989Bought Columbia Pictures — hardware-meets-content bet.
Struggles
Walkman was internally mocked — 'who wants a player without a recorder?' His US expansion bet was nearly fatal.
Family
Married to Yoshiko. Three children. Devoted classical-music collector.
Related on Empire
Keep reading inside Empire.
Around the web
External references & backlinks.
- ↗wikipedia.orgAkio Morita on Wikipedia
- ↗google.comSony — official site
- ↗news.google.comAkio Morita in the news
- ↗crunchbase.comSony on Crunchbase
External links open in a new tab. Empire is not affiliated with these publishers.
The full story
Akio Morita, in 1 chapters.
- Ch 01
The story
Son of a sake brewer who chose electronics. Built post-war Japan's first global consumer-electronics brand on miniaturization and design.
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