On this day, 26 years ago, on October 3, 1999 (August 24, 1999, the founder of Sony Corporation, Akio Morita, passed away. Akio Morita, Honorary President of Sony Corporation, Akio Morita, one of the founders of Sony Corporation and Honorary Chairman of Sony Corporation, died at 10:25 a.m. on October 3, 1999 at the age of 78. Akio Morita was born in Nagoya, central Japan in 1921. When he was a middle school student, he had to learn to understand the secrets of the rice wine industry and learn to identify the fermentation of rice wine in the middle of winter. Decades later, he admitted: "I have never really fallen in love with alcoholic drinks." The Morita family lives in a wealthy area of Nagoya. They are neighbors to the family of car magnate Toyota. There is also a private tennis court in the mansion. The Western lifestyle was introduced by the Emperor himself, but in pre-war Japanese society, most wealthy families were interested in it. On the one hand, Morita loves his country's culture and sometimes is almost nationalist; on the other hand, he is deeply influenced by Western culture and is fascinated by the West, especially the United States. As early as the early Meiji years, Morita's grandfather invited a Frenchman to grow grapes and brew wine. Unfortunately, he failed. The grape seedlings he bought from Bordeaux at a high price developed radicular aphids, but this Frenchman brought new ideas and concepts to Morita's family. One day, his father brought back a record player that no one in Nagoya had ever seen before. The young Morita listened to the only record over and over again-French composer Lavel's "Baolillo Dance". He subscribed to several professional magazines, worked on electronics all day, equipped a phonograph and radio, and tried to make a wired recorder from piano strings. His father wanted him to study economics or law, but he studied physics in college. Soon, World War II began in Europe, and Japan subsequently mobilized for the war. To avoid going to the front line, you have to find a position in the military research department. At that time, the military had a research team in the small coastal town of Daji near Tokyo, specializing in the thermal guidance system and infrared aiming system for projectiles. He came here through his connections. There is a non-military member in the group named Daichi Ibuka, who is an outstanding engineer. Later, Morita founded the famous Sony company with him. As soon as the war ended, Ibuka Daiichi and Morita began to develop electrical appliances, but failed. The first project they developed was an automatic rice cooker, but the result was very bad. The rice that came out was either burnt or half-cooked. Then, Morita persuaded his father to let him realize his dream: to set up his electronics company in Tokyo. At that time, 25-year-old Morita and 38-year-old Ibuka decided to use their research results during the war to develop products in the field they understood best-radio, at the cost of the only US$500 left in Morita's pocket. In 1946, they established Tokyo Electronics Company to produce parts for radios and tape recorders. The business was okay, allowing a team led by Daichi Ibuka to conduct research on tape recorders and radios. Soon, they won the first contract from Nippon Radio, the monopoly of national radio and television, to develop a hybrid recording device for the station. At that time, their small company had only a few wooden sheds, which leaked whenever it rained, and lacked funds. If it were not for Lao Shengtian's trust and support, the company would have collapsed several times. Because he had to help them, Lao Shengtian soon became the company's largest shareholder. Ibuchi was convinced that tape recorders had a future. At that time, such products were already available in Europe and the United States, but no one in Japan had yet mastered the manufacturing process of tape. In 1950, they finally shipped 50 tape recorders, which were of good quality, but the price was too high. Morita later recalled: "We produced 50 tape recorders for customers who did not yet exist at the time. But neither Ibuda nor I have any experience in transforming a product into a product that people want to buy." At that time, Morita had an idea: Since this kind of machine is too expensive for individuals, why not sell it to the administrative department? It turns out that courts and schools are very interested in it. Morita has since been in charge of sales. In the application of semiconductors, it fully demonstrates the savvy of Ibuda and Morita. In the late 1940s, Bell Labs in the United States successfully developed semiconductors. However, apart from making artificial ears, no one imagined that it would have widespread uses. In 1953, Morita went to the United States to negotiate the purchase of patents. The deal was quickly concluded with one condition: no fake ears were allowed! Morita couldn't wait to accept it. Interestingly, the trouble comes from Japan. People in the Ministry of International Trade and Industry also do not understand the benefits of semiconductors and oppose spending US$25,000 on its patents. Sheng Tian had to find connections to intercede, and finally got the green light. Morita will never forget this incident. He said: "The Ministry of International Trade and Industry was not at first an active promoter of the development of Japan's electronics industry as some people claimed." The team led by Ibuka anticipated the huge use of semiconductors, which later revolutionized the electronics industry. It was also this year that their Tokyo Electronics Company decided to change its name to Sony. The word "Sony" comes from the Latin "sonus"(sound). In 1957, Sony made the first portable semiconductor radio that could be put in your pocket. In fact, it is larger than an ordinary pocket. It doesn't matter, Morita wanted people to sew corresponding large pockets for the salesperson's overalls. Morita has a business sense, and Daichi Ibuka is a talented engineer who works hard. Under their promotion, Sony launched a three-in-one TV set and the first batch of semiconductor video recorders in the 1960s, winning a world reputation in the field of home appliances. Since then, Sony has taken the lead in many home appliances. Morita likes to break the stereotypes of Japanese companies and is quite courageous. In the late 1980s, before leaving office, Morita acquired CBS and Colombia Films in the United States. The move shook the United States, with Newsweek saying: "Part of the American soul has been sold." In the early 1990s, when Japan's financial bubble burst, Morita was the first entrepreneur to condemn "Japanese-style management of the crisis." He believes that Japanese people have low purchasing power and working people have few vacations. He calls for a revolution in social practice and imitating the current practices in Europe. Leaders of several large Japanese companies shouted that this was a provocation. However, a few months later, Japan fell into crisis. At that time, the chairman of Japan's main employers 'federation was planning for re-election, and Morita was the most promising candidate. However, he had to withdraw from all social activities due to a cerebral hemorrhage. Today, Akio Morita lives with his family in a mansion in Hawaii. The heir to a rice wine merchant had long since moved away from the rice fields of the Nagoya Plain and became a pioneer in the post-war home appliance industry.