In honor of Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, I thought it would be a great idea to profile two Japanese Progressive Pioneers who literally changed the world: the founders of SONY Corporation.
SONY Corporation is a Japanese multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Kōnan, Minato, Tokyo Japan. Its diversified business includes consumer and professional electronics, gaming, entertainment and financial services. The company owns the largest music entertainment business in the world, the largest video game console business and one of the largest video game publishing businesses, and is one of the leading manufacturers of electronic products for the consumer and professional markets, and a leading player in the film and television entertainment industry.
And two men, Masaru Ibuka and Akio Morita, started it all in 1946 in the devastating wake of World War II.
Masaru Ibuka — Co-Founder of SONY 
Akio Morita — Co-Founder of SONY
They started out building Japan’s first tape recorder but soon expanded to transistor radios an other electronics. The name SONY was adopted in 1958 (a mashup of the Latin word Sonus for sound, and Sonny for the American slang term “sonny boy”).
SONY rapidly grew into the digital mega-giant it is today.
Ibuka served as president of Sony from 1950 to 1971, and then served as chairman of Sony from 1971 until he retired in 1976. He died in 1997 at the age of 89.
Morita stepped down as Chairman of SONY in 1994, passing away five years later at the age of 78.
Between these two men are dozens of awards, publications, and accolades that span decades. They were also involved in many charities and economic ventures helping to rebuild Japan after the war, and paving the way to making it a world economic leader.
Ibuka & Morita leave behind a legacy of world‐changing Digital Revolution that reaches far into our global digital society today and beyond!
SONY Vintage Radio 
SONY Playstation 2 Game Console 
SONY Handycam Camcorder 
SONY Massive 16K Crystal LED TV 
SONY Spider-Man Movies in Partnership with MARVEL/Disney
Click on the video to watch Company Man’s fascinating in‐depth video biopic and analysis on Ibuka & Morita and SONY Corporation.
Update 2021: And, One Asian & Black Woman Who Will Change the World
As the 2021 Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month approaches, I want to pay a special tribute to a remarkable woman who represents not only the best of the Asian community and the Black Community, but also America as a whole: Vice President Kamala Harris.
She is the 49th Vice President of the United States of America, and the first woman ever to hold that title, making her the highest-ranking female official in the history of the country. She is also of both Indian and Black American/Jamaican decent. And, is married to Doug Emhoff who is now the first 2nd Gentleman of the United States.
Formerly, a United States senator from California (2017-2020), she has a long and distinguished career setting the bar high as a role model for what all young women can achieve.
She championed legislation to reform cash bail, combat hunger, provide rent relief, improve maternal health care, and address the climate crisis as a member of the Senate Committee on Environment and Public Works. Her bipartisan anti-lynching bill passed the Senate in 2018. Her legislation to preserve Historically Black Colleges and Universities was signed into law.
She also served as California’s elected Attorney General in 2010, who established the state’s first Bureau of Children’s Justice and instituted several first-of-their-kind reforms that ensured greater transparency and accountability in the criminal justice system.
All of the above plus many, many more accolades grace our newly minted Veep!
We Americans should all be very proud to have her standing watch over our country and our democracy.
She is history in the making!