Sony

Sony Corporation (ソニー株式会社, Sonī Kabushiki-gaisha^?) is Japanese multinational corporation and one of the leading manufacturers of video, communications, and information technology products for the consumer and professional markets. Its music, motion picture, television, computer entertainment, and online businesses make Sony one of the most comprehensive entertainment companies in the world. Sony's principal U.S. businesses include Sony Electronics Inc., Sony Pictures Entertainment, Sony Computer Entertainment America Inc., and a 50% interest in Sony BMG Music Entertainment, the second-largest record company in the world. Sony recorded consolidated annual sales of approximately $67 billion for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005, and it employs 151,400 people worldwide. Sony's consolidated sales in the U.S. for the fiscal year ended March 31, 2005 were $18.4 billion.

Masaru Ibuka

Main article: Masaru Ibuka

Masaru Ibuka, left, with Akio Morita

Masaru Ibuka could well be the person who turned Japan's electronics industry into what it is today. He was co-founder of a tiny recording company that grew into the giant Sony Corporation. But perhaps more importantly, he led the Japanese charge to make their own innovative electronic products instead of simply copying what was being done in the West. He brought transistor technology to Japan, and Sony built the first Japanese transistor radio and the world's first transistorized television set.

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