In November 1962, Hayato Ikeda, the Japanese Prime Minister, visited French President Charles de Gaulle at the Elysée Palace and presented him with a Sony transistor radio. This gesture symbolized the rise of Japan as an economic power, a journey that began in the aftermath of World War II. The US had a Cold War strategy of integrating Japan into its semiconductor industry and supporting the rebuilding of its economy. This allowed Japanese scientists access to important journals and research in the field, leading to the creation of electronics giants like Sony.
Founded by Akio Morita and Masaru Ibuka, Sony was focused on innovation and product design, rather than copying tactics used by other companies. Their first major success was the transistor radio, a product that had previously been attempted by Texas Instruments but was hampered by pricing and marketing errors. Throughout the 1960s, US chipmakers dominated the production of cutting edge chips, but Japanese firms, including Sony, paid hefty licensing fees for intellectual property rights and eventually became experts in devising consumer electronics.
In the 1970s, Sharp Electronics revolutionized the calculator market, making most calculators Japanese-made. The interdependence between America and Japan involved both countries relying on each other for supplies and customers. The US built advanced computers while Japan focused on producing consumer goods, with semiconductors driving growth in consumption. Morita helped Texas Instruments open its first foreign chipmaker plant in exchange for a share of profits, tying Japan even more closely into the US-led system.
In conclusion, Hayato Ikeda’s visit to the Elysée Palace and the gift of the Sony transistor radio marked the arrival of Japan as an economic power. The rise of Sony and other electronics giants was due to the interplay of technology, innovation, and government support, and it helped achieve Ikeda’s goal of doubling the country’s incomes in just a decade.
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