Electronics industry in Japan

[1] Japanese companies have been responsible for a number of important innovations, including having pioneered the transistor radio and the Walkman (Sony), the first mass-produced laptops (Toshiba), the VHS recorder (JVC), and solar cells and LCD screens (Sharp).

Japanese companies have lost their dominant position in categories including portable media players, TVs, computers, and semiconductors.

[6] Hit hard by the economic crisis of 2008, Sony, Hitachi, Panasonic, Fujitsu, Sharp, NEC, and Toshiba reported losses amounting to $17 billion.

[7] The relative decline has been ascribed to factors including high costs, the value of the yen and too many Japanese companies producing the same class of products, causing duplication in research and development efforts and reducing economies of scale and pricing power.

[14] On 15 November 2011, facing tough competition from Samsung and LG; Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi signed a deal to merge their LCD businesses, creating a new company called Japan Display by spring 2012.