Cabo Festival

To the layman’s eye the digital camera seems to have evolved to perfection- a small, versatile, reliable instrument for producing high-quality photographs. But for Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, president of Olympus, the digital camera still has a way to go. He has a dream about what it should be able to do to bring families together. “Parents traveling with their children should be able to transmit pictures immediately, directly, and wirelessly from the camera to the grandparents back home,” he says.

Olympus has long been an innovative pioneer that is never satisfied with the status quo, ever devising and refining new products, methods and services not just in the amateur and professional camera business but also across a broad spectrum of imaging technologies. The company began in 1919 as a maker of microscopes and today commands top share of the world market for those instruments. Its endoscopes, vital in the early detection and treatment of digestive system cancer, have a dominant 70% share of global sales. And the Olympus line of blood analyzers and other diagnostic equipment is growing rapidly.

Even though the global digital-camera industry is struggling through a difficult period, kikukawa is confident of Olympus’ success in the field. Despite an increased competitive landscape, Olympus is planning to boost its position in the market by leveraging its unique brand advantage- the ubiquitous presence of Olympus products throughout society, from hospitals to homens to schools to the workplace. A company mantra puts it his way: Olympus commitment is to prove the health and happiness of people around the world.

Innovation in Japan goes back along way. Although the ancient records are a little fuzzy, it is likely that the rickshaw was invented in Japan, not China. But what has made the world notice, honor, imitate-and fear- Japanese ingenuity is of more recent vintage: the astounding output of ideas and products in the decades following World War II during which Japan rebuilt amid the ashes of almost total industrial destruction.

Traditional companies like Hitachi and Mitsubishi, maker of the Formidable Zero Fighter, converted to peacetime manufacturing, in time producing everything from power generators and cars to air conditioners and rice cookers. New companies like Sony and Honda expanded quickly and courageously. All borrowed massive amounts of money. With discipline, teamwork, and imagination, they created the world’s second largest economy.

Here’s a look back at the half century in which Japan recovered, and nine achievements its companies created that dazzled the world.