The violent anti-security treaty demonstrations of 1960 marked the start of a turbulent age quite different from the postwar recovery days.
The year 1961 marked the 15th anniversary of Sony's founding. Preparations for Sony's 15th anniversary celebration, as well as for the issuance of ADR stock, were already underway early in the year. Sony planned to invite all of its Japanese sales agents and other special guests to the newly completed main plant on May 8, the day after the anniversary. There, in the hall on the eighth floor, they were to hold their first official commemorative party.
On the day before the festivities, however, Sony's labor union announced an unexpected strike.
 Of all times to call a strike! a disgruntled Ibuka and top management exclaimed.  This is no time for a party.
They considered calling it off. They could not bear the thought of letting an internal feud disrupt this chance to show Sony supporters the company's phenomenal growth. It was decided to hold the party as scheduled, but at a different location. By eight o'clock that evening, they had reserved the Takanawa Prince Hotel. They spent the rest of the night calling guests to inform them of the new arrangements. Since the catered food could not be canceled at this point, it was sent to the Sony management team who had stayed at the company to help deal with the strike. Naturally the strike situation was chaotic, but changing the venue of the party brought its own headaches. Inevitably some guests could not be contacted, and they arrived at the strike-bound plant in their black limousines or sent along bouquets of flowers.
On May 8, the union began a 72-hour strike, as announced. Backed by outside organizations, union members formed picket lines two to three persons deep at all entrances to the main plant, making it impossible to get in. The strikers claimed that the strike was a spring labor offensive, in which labor presents its demands for the year, but management pondered what really lay behind it.
The Sony labor union had originally developed from the Tsuyukai, an employee organization that had long maintained friendly ties with management. It was established as the official Sony union in February of 1956 in response to the sudden increase in Sony employees. Finding the Tsuyukai insufficient for their needs, these employees had called for the establishment of a strong union and a labor accord to ensure greater job security. The union was established under the leadership of a few mid-level employees. In November, the union joined the All Japan Federation of Electric Machine Workers' Unions.
Indeed, the sudden jump in Sony employees was awesome. In 1956, the year of Sony's 10th anniversary, Sony employed 490 workers. A mere five years later this figure had jumped to 3,703.
At the event commemorating Sony's 14th anniversary, Ibuka noted, I'll have to admit that Sony has grown. Today as I passed the reception desk, the receptionist asked me if I had an entrance pass. Please try to remember me --- I'm Ibuka, the president.
Sony had grown to the point that employees could not recognize their own president. In such an age, the labor union began to take on a very different role from that of the union formed at the company's founding.
Sony experienced its first strike ever in 1960 --- a strike for higher year-end bonuses.
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