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Toshio Iue
井植 歳男
The members of Matsushita Electric Housewares Manufacturing Works (back row from left,Kōnosuke Matsushita, Toshio Iue, Mumeno Matsushita)
Born	(1902-12-28)28 December 1902 Awaji, Hyōgo,Empire of Japan
Died	16 July 1969(1969-07-16) (aged 66) Awaji, Hyōgo, Japan
Occupation(s)	Businessman and industrialist
Known for	The founding ofSanyo
Children	2
Relatives	Kōnosuke Matsushita (brother-in-law)
Japanese name
Kanji	井植 歳男
Transcriptions Romanization Iue Toshio

Toshio Iue (井植 歳男,Iue Toshio, 28 December 1902 – 16 July 1969) was a Japaneseinventor and industrialist who foundedSanyo Electric Co., Ltd. Prior to the founding of Sanyo, he played an influential role in the growth and development ofMatsushita Electric Works, working closely alongside his brother-in-law and lifetime confidant,Konosuke Matsushita.

The son of a sailor fromAwaji Island, Iue initially followed his father's footsteps as a sailor's apprentice. When a ship he was on exploded, with Toshio barely escaping with his life, he took a job at an electric plant run byKonosuke Matsushita, who was married to one of Toshio's sisters. During his tenure at the company, he became an expert salesman, convincing wary resalers of the quality ofMatsushita's electric products, which were from Osaka, in an era where most electric goods in Japan were made in Tokyo.^{[citation needed]}

After serving in the Japanese military, Iue came back to Japan and became Konosuke's brother-in-law once again when he married Mumeno Matsushita. Iue then took the lead in building a wooden boat factory for Matsushita upon request of the Japanese military duringWorld War II. Upon Japan's defeat in the war, the General Headquarters of Allied Forces requested a change in the management of Matsushita, with one of its senior executives required to step down. Iue decided to step down so that Matsushita could continue as the head of the company.^{[citation needed]}

After his resignation from Matsushita, Iue was summoned to the office of the president ofSumitomo Bank after an ill-timed loan to acquire shares in Matsushita, which had become close to worthless after Japan's defeat. The bank president forgave Iue's debt, and knowing his prior talent working at Matsushita, offered him starting capital for a new business.^{[citation needed]}

Konosuke Matsushita would lend Iue an unused plant inHyogo Prefecture, where he followed in his brother-in-law's footsteps by initially making bicycle lamps and captured 60% of the Japanese market. He named his firmSanyo, meaning "three oceans" in Japanese, hoping that he would be able to sell his products across theIndian,Pacific andAtlantic Oceans. The growing demand for home appliances and washing machines would fuel Sanyo's growth through the 1950s.

Iue retired and handed the presidency of Sanyo to his brother in 1968. During his retirement, he worked to promote development of Awaji Island and died in 1969. After a series of unprofitable quarters, Sanyo's story would go full circle as it was acquired in 2009 byPanasonic Corporation, the firm where Iue originally worked at alongside his brother-in-law, Konosuke Matsushita.^{[citation needed]}

• The Life and Times of Toshio Iue - Founder of Sanyo at Panasonic's website

• 1902 births
• 1969 deaths
• 20th-century Japanese businesspeople
• Panasonic
• People from Awaji, Hyōgo
• 20th-century Japanese inventors

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