Sharp Corporation

Sharp Corporation is a Japanese electronics company headquartered in Sakai, Osaka. Tokuji Hayakawa founded a metal workshop in Honjo, Tokyo, in 1912, and his Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil of 1915 gave the firm its eventual name. After the 1923 Great Kanto earthquake destroyed the pencil business the company moved to Osaka, was established as Hayakawa Metal Works in 1924 and began selling radio sets in 1925. It was renamed Hayakawa Electric Industry Company in 1942 and Sharp Corporation in 1970. The company produced Japan-made television sets from 1953, the world first transistor calculator in 1964 and the first LCD calculator in 1973, and it also built 8-bit home computers such as the Sharp MZ and X1. Its range has covered kitchen and home appliances, solar cells, printers, displays and audio products. Since 2016 it has been majority owned by Hon Hai Precision Industry, known as Foxconn.