Made in Japan (biography)
Made in Japan : Akio Morita and Sony is an autobiography of Akio Morita, the co-founder and former chairman of Sony Corporation. It was written with the assistance of Edwin M. Reingold and Mitsuko Shimomura. The book not only narrates the story of Morita, but also of the Sony Corporation's formation in the aftermath of Japan's brutal defeat in World War II, and its subsequent rapid rise to fame and fortune. The book also provides insights into Japanese culture and the Japanese way of thinking, particularly their business management philosophies and styles. The Japanese behavior is explained by putting it into a context based on Japan's history, recent and ancient.
Morita introduces the origins of his family, and how Sony was founded. Chapters picture the war, early tape recorders, and various conclusions on international markets. The transistor was invented in North America in the 1950s, and Sony took advantage of it. The biography gives authentic details about patent issues, business conferences in various countries, and the invention of the Walkman.
The book is narrated by Morita in an intensely personal, down to earth, conversational style.
The autobiography was originally published in English (ISBN 0525244654) in 1986 and has been translated to 12 languages.
[edit] Sections of the book
The book is divided into the following nine sections:
- War
- Peace
- Selling To The World (My learning curve)
- On Management (It's all in the family)
- American and Japanese Styles (The difference)
- Competition (The fuel of Japanese Enterprise)
- Technology (Survival Exercise)
- Japan and The World (Alienation and Alliance)
- World Trade (Averting Crisis)
