Sharp Corporation

Lore & Background

Sharp began as a metal workshop in 1912, where Tokuji Hayakawa invented a snap buckle and the Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil. After the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake destroyed the pencil business, the company moved to Osaka and began designing the first Japanese radio sets, which went on sale in 1925. The company was renamed Hayakawa Electric Industry Company in 1942 and became Sharp Corporation in 1970. In 1953, it produced the first Japan-made TV sets, and in 1964 it developed the world's first transistor calculator. Sharp introduced the first LCD calculator in 1973 and the first low-priced fax machine in 1984. The company also produced the first wall-mountable TV in 1992 and the world's first commercial camera phone in 2000. Sharp heavily invested in LCD panel manufacturing in the 2000s, launching the Aquos line and building plants in Kameyama and Sakai. The 2008 financial crisis and strong yen hurt its LCD business, leading to reduced operating rates at the Sakai plant until 2012. In 2012, Sharp announced its worst financial record, a loss of ¥376 billion, and later accepted investment from Samsung in 2013. Foxconn acquired a 10% stake in 2012 and eventually majority ownership in 2016.

Reader's Guide

Sharp's significance lies in its long history of innovation in consumer electronics, from the first Japanese radio sets and TV to the world's first transistor calculator and LCD calculator. The company's development of the first commercial camera phone in 2000 and its early investment in LCD technology with the Aquos line helped shape the modern television market. Sharp also produced a range of home computers and gaming consoles in partnership with Nintendo during the 1980s, including the Twin Famicom and Famicom Titler, which are now collector's items. The company's financial struggles in the 2010s, culminating in majority ownership by Foxconn, reflect the broader challenges faced by Japanese electronics manufacturers in a globalized market. Despite these challenges, Sharp remains a notable brand in home appliances, audio products, and solar cells, having developed a record-efficient solar cell in 2013.

Did You Know?

• Sharp derived its name from the Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil, invented by founder Tokuji Hayakawa in 1915.
• Sharp produced the world's first transistor calculator, the CS-10A, in 1964, priced at ¥535,000.
• Sharp developed the world's first commercial camera phone, the J-SH04, in Japan in 2000.

From a Snap Buckle to a Global Name

Tokuji Hayakawa opened a small metal workshop in Honjō, Tokyo, in 1912, and his first notable creation was a snap buckle called the Tokubijo. Three years later, in 1915, he introduced the Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil, which became one of the earliest mechanical pencils available on international markets. The pencil's commercial success was so significant that the company eventually took its name from the product. However, the 1923 Great Kantō earthquake devastated the pencil business, forcing a relocation to Osaka. There, in 1924, the enterprise was formally established as the Hayakawa Metal Works Institute in Abeno-ku. The company pivoted toward electronics, designing what would become the first generation of Japanese radio sets, which hit store shelves in 1925. By 1942, the name had evolved to Hayakawa Electric Industry Company, setting the stage for decades of consumer electronics innovation that would follow.

Pioneering the Calculator and Early Computing

Sharp's foray into computing began with a product that required years of development because the company had no prior experience building computing devices. In 1964, it unveiled the world's first transistor calculator, the CS-10A, priced at 535,000 yen, roughly 1,400 dollars. Two years later, the first IC calculator followed, incorporating 145 bipolar ICs made by Mitsubishi Electric, at a price of 350,000 yen. By 1969, Sharp had introduced its first LSI calculator, the first pocketable model priced under 100,000 yen, which became a popular consumer item. In 1973, the company produced the first LCD calculator, with inventor Tadashi Sasaki playing a key role. Beyond calculators, Sharp built 8-bit home computers in the 1970s and 1980s, including the MZ and X1 lines based on the Zilog Z80 processor, and even a 16/32-bit gaming computer, the X68000, built around the Motorola 68000. The PC series of programmable calculators in the 1980s featured full QWERTY keyboards and BASIC language support, as seen in the PC-1500.

The LCD Boom and the Aquos Gamble

In the 2000s, Sharp made massive capital investments in LCD panel manufacturing, opening a plant in Kameyama in 2004 and another in Sakai in 2009. The Sakai facility was, for a period, the only 10th-generation LCD manufacturing plant in the world, making it uniquely suited to producing panels of 60 inches or larger. This infrastructure underpinned the launch of the Aquos brand, which helped kick off the mass-market LCD television industry. In June 2005, Sharp produced what was then the largest LCD television at 65 inches, released in Japan that August. However, the 2008 financial crisis, combined with a strong yen against the Korean won, sharply reduced global demand for Japanese LCD panels. Additionally, Japan completed its transition to digital TV broadcasting by mid-2011, and government coupon programs that had stimulated purchases through March 2011 left the domestic market nearly halved from 2010 levels. These converging pressures left the Sakai plant running at reduced capacity until the third quarter of 2012.

A Remarkably Broad Consumer Portfolio

Sharp's product portfolio spans an extraordinary range of consumer electronics. Between 1964 and 1966, the company introduced the first microwave oven featuring a turntable, and by the late 1970s it had brought low-cost microwave ovens within reach of ordinary households. In 1976, Sharp ventured into the high-end audio market with the Optonica line, offering receivers, amplifiers, speakers, turntables, and cassette recorders, later expanding into digital technology and complete stereo systems before discontinuing the line in 1981 and reintroducing it in the late 1980s for premium televisions and audio products. In 1984, Sharp introduced the first low-priced fax machine, selling approximately 80,000 units in the United States that year. The company also produced the first wall-mountable television in 1992. In 2000, its Mobile Communications Division created the world's first commercial camera phone, the J-SH04, in Japan. Sharp also held licensing rights to build several Nintendo console-attached TV units in the 1980s, including the C1 Famicom TV and the Super Famicom Naizou TV, all of which are now sought-after collector's items.