Sharp's Century of Innovations

The ¥389 billion ($3.5bn) takeover of Japanese electronics giant Sharp by Taiwan’s Hon Hai Precision Industries – better known as Foxconn – ends the independence for a 100-year-old company which started out making belt buckles.

 It all began with Tokuji Hayakawa’s Ever-Sharp Mechanical Pencil in 1915. From crystal radios, microwave ovens, calculators, camera-equipped mobile phones, LED lights, and today’s 4K smart TVs, Hayakawa’s philosophy of “develop to stay ahead of the pack” has produced a century of outstanding products.