, was a Japanese businessman who served as the second President of

Panasonic formerly between 1935 and 2008 and the first incarnation of between 2008 and 2022, is a major Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Conglomerate (company), conglomerate corporation, headquartered in Kadoma, Osaka, Kadoma, Osaka P ...

for sixteen years beginning in 1961. He was the son-in-law of Panasonic's founder, Konosuke Matsushita. Masaharu Matsushita has been credited with expanding Panasonic into a global brand during a time of high economic expansion in Japan.

Biography

Matsushita was born Masaharu Hirata. He was the second son of

Count Count (feminine: countess) is a historical title of nobility in certain European countries, varying in relative status, generally of middling rank in the hierarchy of nobility. Pine, L. G. ''Titles: How the King Became His Majesty''. New York: ...

Eiji Hirata (1882–1971) who was a painter and a professor of

Tokyo School of Fine Arts or is the most prestigious art school in Japan. Located in Ueno Park, it also has facilities in Toride, Ibaraki, Yokohama, Kanagawa, and Kitasenju and Adachi, Tokyo. The university has trained renowned artists in the fields of painting, scul ...

and Tatsu, the adopted daughter of

Viscount A viscount ( , for male) or viscountess (, for female) is a title used in certain European countries for a noble of varying status. In many countries a viscount, and its historical equivalents, was a non-hereditary, administrative or judicial ...

Shinagawa Yajirō. He originally studied law at the present-day

University of Tokyo , abbreviated as or UTokyo, is a public research university located in Bunkyō, Tokyo, Japan. Established in 1877, the university was the first Imperial University and is currently a Top Type university of the Top Global University Project by ...

. Matsushita worked for

Mitsui Bank was a major Japanese bank from 1876 to 1990. It merged with Taiyo Kobe Bank to form Mitsui Taiyo Kobe Bank (MTKB), which was renamed The Sakura Bank in April 1992. Sakura Bank is now part of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC). History T ...

before joining Panasonic. In April 1940, he married Sachiko Matsushita, the daughter of Panasonic's founder, and was adopted into her family, taking their surname. He began working for his father-in-law the following month. Masaharu Matsushita is credited with turning Panasonic into a global electronics brand. He succeeded his father-in-law as President of Panasonic in 1961 as the company's second president. Under him, Panasonic retained its

management philosophy Management fad is a term used to characterize a change in philosophy or operations implemented by a business or institution. The term is subjective and tends to be used in a pejorative sense, as it implies that such a change is being implemented ...

, which emphasized

teamwork Teamwork is the collaborative effort of a group to achieve a common goal or to complete a task in the most effective and efficient way. This concept is seen within the greater framework of a team, which is a group of interdependent individual ...

and promoted the idea that bosses were equal to their employees. High ranking management performed more tasks with their employees, such as cleaning bathrooms. Panasonic's company philosophy has been admired and copied within the Japanese business world. Masaharu Matsushita held the presidency of Panasonic for sixteen years, during a period of worldwide growth for Japan. Toshihiko Yamashita took over the presidency in 1977. He was conferred the Grand Cordon of the

Order of the Sacred Treasure The is a Japanese order, established on 4 January 1888 by Emperor Meiji as the Order of Meiji. Originally awarded in eight classes (from 8th to 1st, in ascending order of importance), since 2003 it has been awarded in six classes, the lowest ...

in 1984, and was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the

Order of the British Empire The Most Excellent Order of the British Empire is a British order of chivalry, rewarding contributions to the arts and sciences, work with charitable and welfare organisations, and public service outside the civil service. It was established ...

(KBE) in 1997. Masaharu Matsushita died at Matsushita Memorial Hospital in

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of 2. ...

, a hospital founded by his father-in-law, on July 16, 2012, at the age of 99. He was survived by his wife, Sachiko, and their sons, Panasonic vice-chairman

Masayuki Matsushita Masayuki (written: , ,, , , , , , , , , , , , , , or ) is a masculine Japanese given name. Notable people with the name include: *, Japanese animator and director *, Japanese actor *, Japanese baseball player and manager *, Japanese politician *, ...

, and

Hiro Matsushita , also known by , is a Japanese businessman and former racing driver. Matsushita is the first and only Japanese driver to win the Toyota Atlantic Championship (Pacific) in 1989 and also the first Japanese driver to race at the Indy 500. He is th ...

who is a former driver in the Champ Car series and owns

Swift Engineering Swift Engineering Inc. is an American spacecraft engineering firm that builds autonomous systems, helicopters, submarines, spacecraft, ground vehicles, robotics, and composite parts. Swift used to produce racing cars for open-wheel racing series ...

, an aerospace firm in California and in 2018

formed its subsidiary called

Swift Xi Swift or SWIFT most commonly refers to: * SWIFT, an international organization facilitating transactions between banks ** SWIFT code * Swift (programming language) * Swift (bird), a family of birds It may also refer to: Organizations * SWIFT, a ...

located in

Kobe Kobe ( , ; officially , ) is the capital city of Hyōgo Prefecture Japan. With a population around 1.5 million, Kobe is Japan's seventh-largest city and the third-largest port city after Tokyo and Yokohama. It is located in Kansai region, whic ...

. Panasonic chairman Fumio Otsubo said of Matsushita, "I honor from the bottom of my heart his achievements in steering our company toward momentous growth."

Honour

Foreign honour

* : Honorary Commander of the

Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia The Most Esteemed Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia ( ms, Darjah Yang Mulia Setia Mahkota Malaysia) is a Malaysian federal award presented for meritorious service to the country and awarded by the sovereign. The order was instituted on ...

(P.S.M.) (1993)

Matsushita family tree

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Matsushita, Masaharu 1912 births 2012 deaths Japanese businesspeople Panasonic University of Tokyo alumni Honorary Commanders of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia