TOSHIBA CORPORATION

Japanese Tokyo Shibaura Denki Kk, major Japanese manufacturer of electrical and electronics products for consumers and industry. Headquarters are in Tokyo. The company was incorporated in 1939 as Tokyo Shibaura Electric Company, Ltd., in the merger of Shibaura Engineering Works, Ltd., and Tokyo Electric Company, Ltd. It adopted its present name in 1978. The original Shibaura company, formed in 1875, grew out of inventor Tanaka Hisashige's factory, with primary concentration on manufacturing engines for ocean vessels. It was taken over by the Mitsui business combine (zaibatsu; q.v.) and set to making heavy, high-horsepower steam engines. It began making machine tools in the mid-1890s. Tokyo Electric Light Company began manufacturing bamboo-filament electric light bulbs in 1890, with Mitsui financing. The merged corporation separated from Mitsui with the dissolution of the zaibatsu after World War II, but became reaffiliated with the Mitsui group (q.v.) in 1973. Both predecessor companies also had close ties with the General Electric Company of the United States. General Electric (GE) first obtained an interest in Tokyo Electric in 1907 in return for GE's aid in updating that company's technology, which led to the mass production of Mazda electric lamps in Japan. In 1909 GE entered into a similar arrangement with Shibaura. Such association represented the first significant infusion of western technology into Japan, and was a major success. GE is still one of Toshiba's largest shareholders. Toshiba manufactures a variety of consumer products, including television and audio products, home appliances, and lighting products. It also produces plants and equipment for the generation of electric power, transportation equipment, industrial motors, and industrial electronics and communications equipment. It has a number of subsidiaries in other countries.