Japan's First TV Set <TV3-14T>

The age of television in Japan began in 1953 when Sharp became the first Japanese company to mass produce TV sets. But Sharp's research into television goes back to 1931, a time when radios were just beginning to take off in Japan. Thanks to ultra-short wave technology gained from research during and after World War II, Sharp was able to build Japan's first TV set prototype in 1951. At the end of 1952, Sharp put Japan's first TV sets on the market and in 1953 became the first company in Japan to mass produce them. Sharp's first TV set, the TV3-14T, was priced at 175,000 yen-at that time the initial salary for high school graduates was 5,400 yen a month. With the goal of putting a TV set in every household, Sharp took the industry lead in bringing down costs so that this new appliance could be affordable to as many people as possible.