g Cap. 10.83
History
The Group has its origins in establishment, in July 1875 in Tokyo, of
first telegraph equipment workshop in Japan. The business was later expanded
and manufacture of heavy electrical equipment began in the 1890s. In 1893
business was renamed Shibaura Engineering Works and was incorporated as such
in 1904.
In 1890 Hakunetsu-sha was established and produced the first incandescent
lamps for general lighting purposes in Japan. The business was incorporated
in 1896 and renamed Tokyo Electric Company Limited in 1899.
At the end of the nineteenth century, Shibaura Engineering Works pioneered
manufacture in Japan of hydro-electric generators and electric fans. Tokyo
Electric Company Limited invented coiled coil light bulb in 1921 and
internal frosted glass light bulb in 1925 and was the first Japanese company
to manufacture X-ray tubes and short- and medium-wave broadcasting
equipment. Both companies grew into substantial manufacturing enterprises in
1920s and 1930s and, in 1939, they merged under the name Tokyo Shibaura
Electric Co., Ltd.
Toshiba was the first company in world to develop 16 inch colour
television sets, television phones, fluorescent lamps not causing
interference with other appliances, automatic handwritten mail number reader
sorters, both side printing facsimile, ion implantation transistor
technology, super-conducting magnets for highspeed trains and fixed head
video tape recorders. Toshiba was also first Japanese company to manufacture
fluorescent lamps, television broadcasting equipment, colour television
tubes, radar, transmitting equipment fo...