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On May 7, 1946, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita founded Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo K.K. (Tokyo Telecommunications Engineering Corp.), which later became Sony Corp. in 1958. At the time, Ibuka was 38 years old and Morita was 25. Their partnership fostered what was to become one of the most successful companies of the 20th century.
Morita passed away last Sunday in Tokyo at the age of 78. He is survived by his wife Yoshiko, sons Hideo and Masao and daughter Naoko.
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Morita and Ibuka met for the first time in 1944 in Japan's Navy Wartime Research Committee. Morita was a Navy lieutenant. When he returned home to Nagoya, Japan after World War II, he was invited to join the faculty of the Tokyo Institute of Technology by one of its professors. As he prepared to leave for Toyko, he read an article about a research laboratory founded by Ibuka that appeared in an Asahi newspaper column called “Blue Pencil” and decided to visit Ibuka in Tokyo, where Ibuka had founded Tokyo Telecommunications Research Institute. Instead of teaching, he decided to establish a new company with Ibuka, who died in 1997.
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Throughout their long partnership, Ibuka devoted his energies to technological research and product development while Morita was instrumental in leading Sony in the areas of marketing, globalization, finance and human resources. Morita also spearheaded Sony's entry into the software business and contributed to the overall management of the company.
“From the rubble of post-war Japan, Mr. Morita, together with Mr. Ibuka, founded Sony with just over 20 people and for over 40 years, they managed and shaped the direction of the company. With his boundless curiosity and brilliant foresight, he (Morita) was a constant source of inspiration to us all. He continued to face up to the challenges posed by a new era. He lived in New York together with his family and from there he traveled all around the world to promote Sony and create new markets overseas,” said Norio Ohga, Sony chairman.
Morita moved to the United States in 1960 after Sony Corp. of America had been established. There he took the lead in creating new sales channels for the company. Many products that have been launched throughout Sony's history can be credited to Morita's creativity and innovative ideas.
“It can be said that Mr. Morita's distinguished global perspective was cultivated from his experiences living in the United States and visiting many countries and from his numerous friendships with political and industrial leaders worldwide. He had a cheerful personality and would always bring joy to people together with his family. He had a special magnetism that naturally drew people toward him,” Ohga said.
Morita was also active in building a cultural bridge between Japan and other countries as vice chairman of the Keidanren (Japan Federation of Economic Organizations) and as a member of the Japan-U.S. Economic Relations group, better known as the “Wise Men's Group.” He was the first Japanese to be awarded the Albert Medal from the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Arts in 1982. He received the National Order of the Legion of Honor, the highest and most prestigious French order in 1984 and was awarded the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan in 1991. Morita also received various and numerous awards from countries including Austria, Belgium, Brazil, Germany, Spain, the Netherlands and the United States.
“Mr. Morita was a remarkable communicator, which is an exceptional trait for a Japanese and he captivated the attention of everyone he came into contact with … He went out of his way to help ease economic frictions between the United States and Japan and strove for the realization of a fair society for companies to compete in. It is not an exaggeration to say he was the 'face of Japan,'” said Nobuyuki Idei, Sony Corp. president and chief executive officer.
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