Kyocera Founder Inamori Kazuo Dies At 90
Inamori Kazuo, one of Japan's most influential business leaders and the founder of electronics company Kyocera, has died. He was 90 years old.
Inamori started the firm, then called Kyoto Ceramic, in 1959. He grew the company into a globally recognized brand with self-developed technology for industrial products.
In 1984, Inamori established a communications firm at a time when the industry was being deregulated. The company became KDDI in 2000. It is now one of Japan's biggest mobile phone carriers.
Inamori also helped rebuild Japan Airlines as chairman after it went bankrupt in 2010. He decided to withdraw from loss-making routes and cut the carrier's workforce by 16,000 employees.
He successfully led the company to be relisted on the Tokyo Stock Exchange 2 years and 8 months after going bankrupt. It was an unusually quick comeback.
Inamori died last Wednesday at his home in Kyoto.