Sony pioneer dies

One of the founders of the Japanese Sony corporation, Masaru Ibuka, has died at the age of eighty-nine.

Mr Ibuka started the company which became the world-wide Sony corporation in 1946, and it quickly became known for technical innovation.

His knowledge of the properties of magnetism led to the development of magnetic recording tape, and Sony marketed the first tape recorder in Japan in 1950.

The first transistor radios and televisions followed soon after, but Masaru Ibuka is likely to be best remembered for the Walkman portable stereo system.

From the newsroom of the BBC World Service