Sony Corp. marked the 60th anniversary of its founding Sunday at a time when the company is struggling to regain its glory with a full recovery in its core electronics business.
Sony's history overlaps Japan's recovery from the ashes after World War II. The company, launched as a 20-person firm on May 7, 1946, by Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, has become internationally renowned, with the number of group employees now totaling more than 150,000 and annual sales topping 7 trillion yen.
The company launched Japan's first magnetic tape recorder in 1950, the first transistor radio in 1955 and the first Walkman personal stereo in 1979.