was a Japanese businessman and inventor who founded

Pioneer Corporation commonly referred to as Pioneer, is a Japanese multinational corporation based in Tokyo, that specializes in digital entertainment products. The company was founded by Nozomu Matsumoto in January 1, 1938 in Tokyo as a radio and speaker repair ...

. He was born in Kobe, Japan in 1905, the son of a Christian missionary. In 1936, he founded the Fukuin Shokai Denki Seisakusho company in Osaka, whose name roughly translates to "Blessed Sound Electric Company" or "Gospel Electric Company", owing to Matsumoto's Christian faith and belief that his electronic products could help in missionary works. In 1937 he created the A-8 speaker, which he christened 'Pioneer'. Matsumoto relocated to Tokyo in 1938 and started a small factory that repaired radios and speakers. After World War II, the company expanded rapidly. His son, Seiya Matsumoto, graduated from

Chuo University , commonly referred to as or , is a private flagship research university in Tokyo, Japan. Founded in 1885 as Igirisu Hōritsu Gakkō (the English Law School), Chuo is one of the oldest and most prestigious institutions in the country. The univer ...

and joined his father's company as head of sales and marketing until he became president of the company in 1982. The brother of Seiya, Kanya Matsumoto was very technical, just as his father. When he joined the company, he was responsible for technical and productive aspects in the company. In 1961 the name 'Pioneer' was changed to 'Pioneer Electronic Corporation', and it was listed on the

Tokyo Stock Exchange The , abbreviated as Tosho () or TSE/TYO, is a stock exchange located in Tokyo, Japan. It is the third largest stock exchange in the world by aggregate market capitalization of its listed companies, and the largest in Asia. It had 2,292 listed ...

. Nozomu Matsumoto died in 1988 at the age of 83.

External links

* http://www.silverpioneer.netfirms.com/components.htm * http://www.answers.com/topic/pioneer-electronic-corporation?cat=biz-fin 1905 births 1988 deaths 20th-century Japanese businesspeople Japanese Christians Pioneer Corporation {{Japan-business-bio-stub