When Kazumasa Sato was assigned to Sony's information technology section as a fresh economics graduate in 1980, he was baffled.
Maintaining an information system using IBM mainframe computers was not what he'd envisioned doing at one of the country's most famous technology companies, known for innovative products such as the iconic Walkman cassette player and Trinitron TV.
But about 40 years later, Sato says that experience set the course for his career. His fascination with networks eventually led him to set up a data security venture using blockchain technology with other former Sony innovators, including former president Kunitake Ando.