# Masaharu Matsushita

Sir Masaharu Matsushita (松下 正治, Matsushita Masaharu, September 17, 1912 – July 16, 2012), was a Japanese businessman who served as the second President of Panasonic for sixteen years beginning in 1961. He was the son-in-law of Panasonic's founder, Konosuke Matsushita. Masaharu Matsushita has been credited with expanding Panasonic into a global brand during a time of high economic expansion in Japan.

## Biography

Matsushita was born Masaharu Hirata. He was the second son of Count Eiji Hirata (1882–1971) who was a painter and a professor of Tokyo School of Fine Arts and Tatsu, the adopted daughter of Viscount Shinagawa Yajirō. He originally studied law at the present-day University of Tokyo. Matsushita worked for Mitsui Bank before joining Panasonic. In April 1940, he married Sachiko Matsushita, the daughter of Panasonic's founder, and was adopted into her family, taking their surname. He began working for his father-in-law the following month.
Masaharu Matsushita is credited with turning Panasonic into a global electronics brand. He succeeded his father-in-law as President of Panasonic in 1961 as the company's second president. Under him, Panasonic retained its management philosophy, which emphasized teamwork and promoted the idea that bosses were equal to their employees. High ranking management performed more tasks with their employees, such as cleaning bathrooms. Panasonic's company philosophy has been admired and copied within the Japanese business world. Masaharu Matsushita held the presidency of Panasonic for sixteen years, during a period of worldwide growth for Japan. Toshihiko Yamashita took over the presidency in 1977. He was conferred the Grand Cordon of the Order of the Sacred Treasure in 1984, and was appointed an honorary Knight Commander of the Order of the British Empire (KBE) in 1997.
Masaharu Matsushita died at Matsushita Memorial Hospital in Osaka, a hospital founded by his father-in-law, on July 16, 2012, at the age of 99. He was survived by his wife, Sachiko, and their sons, Panasonic vice-chairman Masayuki Matsushita, and Hiro Matsushita who is a former driver in the Champ Car series and owns Swift Engineering, an aerospace firm in California and in 2018 Swift Engineering formed its subsidiary called Swift Xi located in Kobe.
Panasonic chairman Fumio Ōtsubo said of Matsushita, "I honor from the bottom of my heart his achievements in steering our company toward momentous growth."

## Honour
### Foreign honour

* Malaysia : Honorary Commander of the Order of Loyalty to the Crown of Malaysia (P.S.M.) (1993)

## Matsushita family tree

| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon | Matsushita Uemon |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | Yasuda Koichiro | | | Tokue Matsushita | Tokue Matsushita | Tokue Matsushita | Tokue Matsushita | Tokue Matsushita | Tokue Matsushita | | | Masakusu Matsushita | Masakusu Matsushita | Masakusu Matsushita | Masakusu Matsushita | Masakusu Matsushita | Masakusu Matsushita | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Hirata Tosuke | Maeda Toshiaki (前田利昭 | Maeda Toshiaki (前田利昭 | Maeda Toshiaki (前田利昭 | Maeda Toshiaki (前田利昭 | Maeda Toshiaki (前田利昭 | Maeda Toshiaki (前田利昭 | Mitsui Takamine10th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takamine10th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takamine10th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takamine10th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takamine10th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takamine10th head of the Mitsui family |
| Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Tetsujiro Nakao | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Yasue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Jun Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Yurou Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | Toshio Iue | | | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | Mumeno | | | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | Konosuke Matsushita | | | | | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Hirata Shodo | Shizuko Maeda | Shizuko Maeda | Shizuko Maeda | Shizuko Maeda | Shizuko Maeda | Shizuko Maeda | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Maeda Toshisada | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Keiko | Mitsui Takakimi11th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takakimi11th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takakimi11th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takakimi11th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takakimi11th head of the Mitsui family | Mitsui Takakimi11th head of the Mitsui family |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | Satoshi Iue | | | | | | | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | Matsushita Sachiko | | | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | Masaharu Matsushita | | | | | | | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | Hirata Katsumi | | | | | | | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | Nobuko | | | | | | |
| | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | Iue Toshimasa | | | | | | | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | Hiro Matsushita | | | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸 | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸 | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸 | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸 | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸 | Masayuki Matsushita (松下正幸 | Atsuko Matsushita | Atsuko Matsushita | Atsuko Matsushita | Atsuko Matsushita | Atsuko Matsushita | Atsuko Matsushita | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | | |