Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo thumb|left|Sony's first product was an electric rice cooker in the late 1940s. Sony began in the wake of World War II. In 1946, Masaru Ibuka started an electronics shop in Shirokiya, a department store building in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. The company started with a capital of ¥190,000 and a total of eight employees. On 7 May 1946, Ibuka was joined by Akio Morita to establish a company called . The company built Japan's first tape recorder, called the Type-G. In 1958, the company changed its name to "Sony".
Tokyo Tsushin Kogyo thumb|left|Sony's first product was an electric rice cooker in the late 1940s Sony began in the wake of World War II. In 1946, Masaru Ibuka started an electronics shop in Shirokiya, a department store building in the Nihonbashi area of Tokyo. The company started with a capital of ¥190,000 and a total of eight employees. On 7 May 1946, Ibuka was joined by Akio Morita to establish a company called . The company built Japan's first tape recorder, called the Type-G. In 1958, the company changed its name to "Sony".