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Just as Kihara and his staff were working on the prototype of Japan's
first VTR, a leading weekly magazine, Shukan Asahi, published an article on
Japanese industry by critic Soichi Ohya which called Sony "a corporate
guinea pig."
" Toshiba has now outpaced Sony in the field of transistors, with
close to 2.5 times greater output than the former leader. Toshiba's
strength is certainly drawn from its corporate strategy of investing
whatever capital is necessary to profit on the products it sees as
lucrative. Sony, the pioneer in transistor production, has played the
guinea pig for Toshiba admirably."
The term "guinea pig" refers to being made sacrificial — sticking
one's neck out by taking the lead in research and development. Once the
work tested by the "guinea pig" is deemed feasible, large corporations
jump on it and make it their own. To Ibuka and the others, it was not a
kind description.
Indeed, Toshiba's production was high. They had invested some 1.3
billion yen into mass production transistor plants. Sony, on the other
hand, was capitalized at 190,000 yen after the war and had built up its
holdings to 200 million yen in the short space of twelve years. But Sony
could not compare financially with the larger corporations like Toshiba and
others with their longer histories.
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 | | The "guinea pig" statuette from Sony employees to honor Mr. Ibuka's award from the Emperor.
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Perhaps the epithet "corporate guinea pig" was apt. It was, however,
their technical superiority, team-like solidarity and the capacity to set
things in motion that enabled Sony to continually create new products in
the rapidly advancing electronics industry. Without considering these
elements, any comparisons with the well-established companies just would
not be fair.
Initially Ibuka greatly resented the metaphor. In later years, though,
he seemed to revel in it. "One of our most important jobs is determining
how to apply the latest developments in electronics to new consumer
products. Naturally, then, we have to keep up with change. Today, those who
simply do the same work over and over in the same way will gradually fall
behind the times. One has to be innovative. There are countless industries
which can be built up from scratch if someone takes the right approach. In
other words, by taking this guinea pig approach to products, there is
always something new to challenge.
" Take the transistor for example. When American and European
developers scoffed at the idea of using them in radios for home use, Sony
developed transistor radios into a marketable consumer product and led
Japanese industry in production. This was one of the major factors enabling
the Japanese radio industry to lead the world market. This is the crowning
glory for us guinea pigs who continually strive to develop new consumer
products."
Ibuka continues, "Today, there are still plenty of uses for
transistors in consumer products. If we are considered guinea pigs for
developing all the possible products incorporating the transistor, then
there's nothing wrong with being a guinea pig." Ibuka and the Sony
management saw no harm in being called guinea pigs if their products
contributed to the development of the electronics industry and benefited
the consumer.
The guinea pig article reflected Sony's growing prominence in Japan.
Indeed, just around this time, Sony was about to break out of the ranks of
the small- and medium-sized corporations and join the ranks of large
corporations.
On August 8, 1955, Totsuko's stock was listed on the over-the-counter
market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange. That day's Nihon Keizai Shimbun noted,
"Totsuko stock, listed on the OTC market, showed modest appreciation in
January and February. As of next spring, production of transistors is
expected to increase to 50,000 from the current 5,000, and monthly sales
are expected to increase accordingly from 50 to 150 million yen.
In December of 1958, Sony was listed in the first section of the Tokyo
Stock Exchange. Both its past performance and future prospects were
regarded as excellent.
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