'''Akio Morita''' (盛田昭夫 ''Morita Akio'', [[January 26]], [[1921]] in [[Tokoname, Aichi]], [[Japan]] – [[October 3]], [[1999]] in [[Tokyo]]) was a co-founder of [[Sony|Sony Corporation]].

==Biography==
===Early life===
Morita's family was involved in [[sake]], [[miso]] and [[soy sauce]] production in [[Chita Peninsula]], [[Aichi Prefecture]] since [[1665]]. He graduated from [[Osaka University|Osaka Imperial University]] in [[1944]].

===Wartime===
He was trained as a phycisist, Morita was an officer in the [[Imperial Japanese Navy]] during [[World War II]]. He met [[Masaru Ibuka]] in the [[Wartime Research Committee]].

===Sony===
After the war, 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 full-[[transistor]]ized) and a year later renamed itself Sony (sonus is [[Latin]] for [[sound]], and ''Sonny-boys'' is Japanese [[slang]] for "[[whiz kid]]s"). In 1960 it produced the first [[transistor]] television in the world.

In 1961, 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 announced his resignation 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.

===Other service===
He was also Vice Chairman of the [[Keidanren]] ([[Japan Federation of Economic Organizations]]) and was a member of the [[Japan-U.S. Economic Relations Group]], (also known as the "[[Wise Men's Group]]").

===Publications===
In 1966, Morita wrote a book called ''Never Mind School Records'', in which he stresses that school records are not important in one's success or ability to do business. In 1986, Morita wrote an autobiography titled ''[[Made_in_Japan_(biography)|Made in Japan]]''. He was famous for co-authoring the 1991 essay ''[[The Japan that Can Say No]]'' with politician [[Shintaro Ishihara]], which criticized United States business practices and encouraged Japanese to take a more independent role in business and foreign affairs.

===Awards===
He was awarded the [[Albert Medal (RSA)|Albert Medal]] from the [[United Kingdom]]'s [[Royal Society of Arts]] in 1982; he was the first Japanese to receive the honor. Two years later, he received the prestigious [[Légion d'honneur|National Order of the Legion of Honor]] and in 1991, he was awarded the First Class [[Order of the Sacred Treasure]] from the [[Emperor Akihito|Emperor of Japan]].

===Death===
Morita died of [[pneumonia]] at the age of 78.

==External links==
* [http://www.time.com/time/time100/builder/profile/morita.html Time magazine profile]
* [http://www.sony.com/SCA/press/morita_bio.shtml Sony Biographical notes]
* [http://www.pbs.org/transistor/album1/addlbios/morita.html PBS notes]
* [http://www.worldofbiography.com/9078%2DAkio%20Morita/ Full Biography at World of Biography]

==Further reading==
* Morita, Akio. ''Made in Japan'' (New York: Dutton, 1986, ISBN 0451151712)
* Morita, Akio. ''Never Mind School Records'' (1966) (ISBN 4022604158 in Japanese)
* Morita, Akio (Co-Author) and Shintaro Ishihara. ''The Japan That Can Say No'' (Simon & Schuster, 1991, ISBN 0671758535, ISBN 4334051588 in Japanese)
* [http://worldcat.org/search?q=au%3AAkio+Morita&lang=en List of books authored by Akio Morita] at WorldCat

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{{succession box
| before=
| title= [[Chairman of the Board]] of [[Sony|Sony Corporation]]
| years= -1994
| after= [[Norio Ohga]]}}
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{{commons|Sony}}

{{Sony Corp}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Morita, Akio}}

[[Category:Japanese businesspeople]]
[[Category:Sony people]]
[[Category:People from Aichi Prefecture]]
[[Category:Légion d'honneur recipients]]
[[Category:Knights Commander of the Order of the British Empire]]
[[Category:Japanese military personnel of World War II]]
[[Category:1921 births]]
[[Category:1999 deaths]]
[[Category:Deaths from pneumonia]]

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