Electronics industry in Japan

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Professional video camera from JVC JVC GY-HD100 in Edmonton 20060720.jpg
Professional video camera from JVC

In Japan, the electronics industry is one of the largest in the world, though the share of Japanese electronics companies has significantly declined from its peak due to competition from South Korea, Taiwan, China, and the United States. [1]

Contents

Japanese companies have been responsible for a number of important innovations, including having pioneered the transistor radio and the Walkman (Sony), the first mass-produced laptops (Toshiba), the VHS recorder (JVC), and solar cells and LCD screens (Sharp). [2]

History

Japan's foreign direct investment in the consumer electronics industry was motivated by protectionism and labor costs, encouraging foreign capital to invest in a country with lower production overhead and prewar industrial know-how to be competitive in the electronics market. After three years of voluntary export restraints, seven Japanese firms located plants in the United States by 1980. [3] Japanese firms continued production of the most technologically advanced products, especially in Japan but also the U.S., while shifting production of less-advanced products to developing countries in Southeast Asia. [4]

Circa 1997, Japanese children had a relatively large amount of savings, with the average having about 110,000 Japanese yen (about $900 U.S. dollars) in allowances, which stimulated purchases of electronic goods like Tamagotchi. [5]

1950s

This decade marked the beginning of the Japanese semiconductor industry, which was driven by relationships established with the United States. The Japanese firms Kobe Kogyo and Sony were at the forefront of this exchange of ideas, working with the RCA and Western Electric, respectively. [6]

Kobe Kogyo

Kobe Kogyo, later acquired by Fujitsu, became the first company to manufacture and sell transistors in Japan, on the basis of a technology assistance contract signed by Kobe Kogyo president Takao on June 25th, 1951. This know-how contract, which granted manufacturing instructions, equipment, and personnel, were exchanged along with a 3% royalty. [7] Tetsuya Arizumi, the Senior Manager of the vacuum tube department at the time, visited RCA's laboratory and factories to initiate a transistor research and development project. [8]

As a result of this success, Takao agreed to expand their contract with RCA to include "all products in the field of weak electricity," including vacuum tubes, radio, television, and transistors. [9] [10] In the same year, Kobe Kogyo became the first Japanese company to commercially produce the solid-state electronic device, and begun making point contact and alloy-junction transistors with the help of RCA's manufacturing technology from the contract. By the end of the decade, Kobe Kogyo sold over $3 million worth of semiconductor devices around the world. [6] [9]

Sony

In 1953, Sony became the first Japanese company to collaborate with Western Electric (WE), marking a significant step in its technological development. Like Kobe Kogyo, Sony was led by technically trained co-founders, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, who recognized the substantial technology gap between Japan and the West in the aftermath of World War II. As a postwar startup with no prior experience in vacuum-tube manufacturing and a relatively narrow focus, Sony relied on technology importation and strategic partnerships to accelerate its growth and establish itself as a leader in Japan’s emerging electronics industry. [6]

Under Ibuka, an engineer for Sony, the company became the first to commercialize a transistor radio in Japan in 1955 (the TR-55), which marked a major leap in consumer electronics [11] . The release of the TR-55 allowed for more compact and portable devices, distinguishing Sony in the consumer electronics market.

The Role of Japanese Electronics in the Global Automotive Industry

Even though there have been a lot of challenges for Japanese industry in the electronics sector, Japanese electronics companies are still large players in the global automotive sector. Companies like Renesas Electronics, Sony, and even Panasonic are still at the cutting-edge of automotive technology [6] . Key features like lane tracking-assistance, advanced driver-assistance systems, electric vehicle batteries, and entertainment systems are all fields that the Japanese electronics industry continues to lead. Renesas electronics supplies microcontrollers and processors for major global automakers. These devices are key for autonomic driving and developing more effective electric vehicles. Furthermore, Sony is a significant player in the smart mobility space, which focuses on advanced sensor technology and AI-driven innovation [12] . Contributions and innovations like these are why Japanese electronics companies are still highly relevant to the global automotive industry.

21st century

The current headquarters of Sony Corporation in Tokyo Sony headquaters 2.jpg
The current headquarters of Sony Corporation in Tokyo

Since the beginning of the 21st century, several of the largest Japanese electronics companies have struggled financially and lost market share, particularly to South Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese companies. Japanese companies have lost their dominant position in categories including portable media players, TVs, computers, and semiconductors. [13] Hit hard by the economic crisis of 2008, Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Sharp, NEC, and Toshiba reported losses amounting to $17 billion. [14] The relative decline has been ascribed to factors including high costs, the value of the yen and too many Japanese companies producing the same class of products, causing duplication in research and development efforts and reducing economies of scale and pricing power. [15] [16] Japan's education system has also been highlighted as a possible contributing factor. [17] The lack of adaptation to the Digital Revolution and the shift from hardware to software-oriented product development has also been cited. [18]

One response to the challenges has been a rise in company mergers and acquisitions. JVC and Kenwood merged (forming JVCKenwood), [19] and Renesas Technology and NEC Electronics -the semiconductors arm of NEC- to merge forming Renesas Electronics. [20] In a similar move, in 2009, Panasonic acquired a voting stock majority of Sanyo, making the latter part of the Panasonic Group. Also, some of the bigger players resorted to merging some of their operations, as Hitachi, Casio, NEC, Fujitsu, and Toshiba, did with their cellphone business. [21] On 15 November 2011, facing tough competition from Samsung and LG; Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi signed a deal to merge their LCD businesses, creating a new company called Japan Display by spring 2012. [22]

As of 2013, most Japanese companies no longer enjoy the same reputation they did about one to two decades ago. Currently, the international electronics consumer market is a competition between Japanese, South Korean, Chinese, Taiwanese, and American industries. Quite a few Japanese companies still have significant international market share. The future of the Japanese electronics industry is debated. [23]

Manufacturers

The following electronics industry have marketed and sold within Japan:

See also

References

  1. ↑ Cheng, Roger. "The era of Japanese consumer electronics giants is dead". CNET. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  2. ↑ "The mighty, fallen – Ex-world-beaters swallow their pride and do deals with foreign rivals". The Economist. 3 March 2011. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  3. ↑ PD-icon.svg This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain . Country Studies. Federal Research Division.
  4. ↑ Ong, Aihwa (1987) [1st. pub.]. Spirits of Resistance and Capitalist Discipline: Factory Women in Malaysia. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press. ISBN   0-88706-381-0.
  5. ↑ Sekizawa, Hidehiko (December 1997). "KALEIDOSCOPIC PATTERNS OF MASS CONSUMPTION: SHOPPING AROUND IN JAPAN". Look Japan . Archived from the original on 12 June 2002. Retrieved 1 May 2019.
  6. 1 2 3 4 Choi, Hyungsub (2008). "Technology Importation, Corporate Strategies, and the Rise of the Japanese Semiconductor Industry in the 1950s". Comparative Technology Transfer and Society. 6 (2): 103–126 – via Research Direct.
  7. ↑ Japan Electronic Machinery Industry Association (1968). 電子産業20年史[20-Year History of the Electronics Industry] (in Japanese). Tokyo: Dempa Shinbunsha. p. 112.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: date and year (link)
  8. ↑ Nakagawa, Y (1981). 日本のハンドタイ開発：超LSIへの道をひらいた男たち[Semiconductor development in Japan: Men who opened the road to VLSI] (in Japanese). Tokyo: ダイヤモンド社. pp. 75–77.
  9. 1 2 Kobe Kogyo shashi (Company history of Kobe Kogyo). (1976). Tokyo: Fujitsu Kabushiki Kaisha.
  10. ↑ Takao, S. (1952). Radio Corporation of America to no keiyaku han’i kakucho ni kanshite (On expanding the contract scope with RCA). Kobe Kogyo Giho, 14, 1.
  11. ↑ Grayson, Robert (1 September 2012). Sony: The Company and Its Founders: The Company and Its Founders. ABDO Publishing Company. ISBN   978-1-61480-183-2.
  12. ↑ "What happened to Japan's electronic giants?". BBC News. 1 April 2013. Retrieved 1 March 2025.
  13. ↑ "IBM Institute for Business Value – Thought Leadership – United States". archive.ph. 17 December 2012. Archived from the original on 17 December 2012. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  14. ↑ "Japanese electronics giants post $17b losses". ABC News. 30 January 2009. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  15. ↑ "Unplugged – Once the epitome of Japan's post-war success, its electronics firms are in crisis". The Economist. 5 February 2009. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  16. ↑ "From summit to plummet – Once global leaders, Japanese electronics firms are tumbling". The Economist. 18 February 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  17. ↑ "Completing one's education". The Japan Times. 10 July 2012. Retrieved 17 July 2012.
  18. ↑ Rupert Wingfield-Hayes (2 April 2013). "What happened to Japan's electronic giants?". BBC News Asia.
  19. ↑ Erica Ogg. "JVC, Kenwood officially hook up". CNET.
  20. ↑ "Renesas Electronics is biggest 'non-memory' chip firm". ElectronicsWeekly.com. 2 April 2010. Retrieved 3 April 2010.
  21. ↑ "Fujitsu and Toshiba Conclude Definitive Agreement to Merge Mobile Phone Businesses – Fujitsu Global". fujitsu.com. Retrieved 22 March 2022.
  22. ↑ "Sony, Hitachi, and Toshiba Agree to "Japan Display" Joint Venture". Archived from the original on 17 November 2011. Retrieved 20 November 2011.
  23. ↑ Junko Yoshida (22 April 2013). "Japanese electronics industry debates future amid turmoil". EE Times. UBM Tech. Archived from the original on 24 April 2013. Retrieved 26 April 2013.
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