Named after a mechanical pencil: tech giant Japanese Sharp brand

Tokuji Hayakawa established a metal workshop in Tokyo, the capital of Japan, in 1912. The first of his many inventions was a snap clasp called the 'Tokubijo'. Another of his inventions was the 1915 Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil. The product became one of the first mechanical pencils available on the international market. Because of this great success, Sharp Corporation got its name from that. 

After the pencil business was destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake of 1923, the company moved to Osaka. He began designing the first generation of Japanese radio sets. These went on sale in 1925. The company was founded in 1924 as "Hayakawa Metal Works" in Tanabe-cho, Osaka. In 1942 the name was changed to "Hayakawa Electric Industrial Company".

In 1953, Hayakawa Electric began producing the first Japanese-made TV sets, "Sharp TV3-14T". In 1964 the company developed the world's first transistor calculator (Sharp CS-10A). It took Sharp several years to develop the product as they had no experience at the time. Two years later, in 1966, Sharp released the first IC calculator using 145 Mitsubishi Electric-made bipolar ICs.

The first LSI calculator was also released in 1969. This was the first pocketable calculator with a lower price and turned out to be a popular product. Also during the same period, the company introduced the first microwave oven with a turntable between 1964 and 1966. The name of the company was changed to Sharp Corporation in 1970.

Sharp produced the first LCD calculator in 1973. Sharp had a working relationship with Nintendo in the 1980s. And obtained license rights for the production and development of many products. All of these units were accepted as collectibles on the secondary market. One of the main inventors of the company's LCD calculators was Tadashi Sasaki.

Sharp introduced affordable low cost microwave ovens for residential use in the late 1970s. Sharp entered the high-end stereo market in 1976 with the introduction of high-end receivers, amplifiers, speakers, turntables, and cassette players.

The Optonica series consisted of high quality and technically advanced components. It was expanded in 1979 to cover a wider range of high-end equipment. During this work, Sharp introduced digital technology to some Optonica products alongside traditional analog products. It offered a complete range of models, from low-power high-end pickups to very powerful models.

The line was changed back in 1981 and moved mainly to digital high-end, complete stereo systems with advanced technological features that set the trend for the digital age. Sharp's Mobile Communications Division created the world's first commercial camera phone, the J-SH04, in 2000 in Japan.

Sharp has invested heavily in LCD panel manufacturing facilities since 2000. These are: Kameyama in 2004 and Sakai in 2009. The Sakai factory is still the only 10th generation LCD manufacturing facility in the world. It is best suited for the production of 60-inch or larger panels. However, the 2008 financial crisis and the strong Yen significantly reduced world demand for Japanese LCD panels.

Also, the transition to digital TV broadcasting in Japan was almost complete in mid-2011. Through coupons for digital TV sets issued by the Japanese government, consumers were encouraged to purchase digital TV sets until March 2011. Compared to 2010, it has almost halved. All these events had a strong impact on Sharp's LCD business. As a result, the Sakai LCD factory suffered a low operating rate until the third quarter of 2012.

From 2005 to 2010 Sharp was Japan's largest mobile phone brand. Since then, it has been constantly swapping places in financial quarters against rivals Fujitsu, Apple and Sony. Sharp acquired a majority stake in Pioneer Corporation in 2007. At CES 2007, Sharp unveiled its largest LCD TV prototype with a screen size of 108 inches. In July 2008, Sharp announced that the model would go into production for the Japanese market.

On June 25, 2009, Sharp and Pioneer agreed to form a joint venture called "Pioneer Digital Design and Manufacturing Corporation", which includes the optical business. In 2012 Sharp introduced the largest production TV of the era, with a screen size of 80 inches. It is part of the Aquos series and is available in Japan.

2012 was the 100th anniversary for Sharp, but in April 2012 he announced the worst financial record in its history. Sharp announced the layoffs in September. Ultimately In 2014, Sharp managed to stop losses and delivered a positive net income for first-quarter results. In March 2012, Taiwan-based electronics company Hon Hai, trading under the name Foxconn, purchased a 10% stake in Sharp Corporation.

In June 2012, the Hon Hai president paid for the Sakai factory and took a 50% stake in the factory. However, Sharp's share price has continued to decline since the March announcement. Sharp led the market share of mobile phones in the Japanese market in April 2012. Sharp reportedly ranked 3rd in mobile phone market share in the Japanese market in May 2015.

In 2013 Sharp developed the most efficient solar cell, converting a record 44.4% of sunlight into electricity. In 2013 Sharp Corporation was the tenth largest television manufacturer in the world by market share. It has long been a leader in Japan. Sharp sold its Mexican TV factory to Chinese electronics manufacturer Hisense in July 2015, after years of major losses in its overseas TV business. The sale includes usage rights to the Sharp brand and all channel resources in North and South America. This meant Sharp exited the TV market in America. This was a sign of Sharp's rapid decline in this market, where it was once one of the leading LCD TV manufacturers ten years ago.

Sharp began selling the world's first 8K resolution TV in October 2015. In March 2017, the demolition of Sharp's old headquarters began. Sharp re-acquired its own brand for use in TVs in the US market in 2019. In March 2020, in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Sharp announced that it would use a TV factory with high-end cleanrooms to manufacture surgical masks.

Sharp purchased the remaining shares of Dynabook from Toshiba in August 2020, making Dynabook a wholly owned subsidiary of Sharp.