[1] Morita's family was involved in sake, miso and soy sauce production in the village of Kosugaya (currently a part of Tokoname City) on the western coast of Chita Peninsula in Aichi Prefecture since 1665.

He was the oldest of four siblings and his father Kyuzaemon trained him as a child to take over the family business.

During his service, Morita met his future business partner Masaru Ibuka at a study group for developing infrared-guided bombs (Ke-Go) in the Navy's Wartime Research Committee.

In September 1945, Ibuka founded a radio repair shop in the bombed out Shirokiya Department Store in Nihonbashi, Tokyo.

[8] When he returned to Japan, he encouraged experienced, middle-aged employees of other companies to reevaluate their careers and consider joining Sony.

[8] In 1961, Sony Corporation was the first Japanese company to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange, in the form of American depositary receipts (ADRs).

[11] In 1975, Sony released the first Betamax home videocassette recorder, a year before the VHS format came out.

In 1984, Sony launched the Discman series, which extended their Walkman brand to portable CD products.

[16] Morita suffered a cerebral hemorrhage in 1993 while playing tennis[10] and on November 25, 1994, stepped down as Sony chairman to be succeeded by Ohga.

[18] Morita was awarded the Albert Medal by the United Kingdom's Royal Society of Arts in 1982, the first Japanese to receive the honor.

Two years later, he received the prestigious Legion of Honour, and in 1991, was awarded the First Class Order of the Sacred Treasure from the Emperor of Japan.