Source: BADBATUMARU on Google Maps
Japan’s electronics giant Sharp Corporation previously announced that it would be ceasing operation of its LCD panel plant in Osaka by the end of September.
In July, Sharp stated that the shutdown had been brought forward to the end of this month.
That time has now come, as the factory closed its doors at 4pm on Wednesday (21 Aug), reports Sin Chew Daily.
Sharp’s subsidiary, Sakai Display Products (SDP), previously ran the plant to produce liquid-crystal display (LCD) panels for television sets.
Source: BADBATUMARU on Google Maps
However, SDP ended up incurring Sharp a loss of 188.4 billion yen (S$1.7 billion) in the fiscal year ending March 2023, reported Nikkei Asia.
With TVs now transitioning away from LCD panels towards OLED displays, SDP was outcompeted by other LCD companies in China and South Korea.
As such, Sharp made the decision to close down SDP’s plant in Osaka, which happened to be the last remaining LCD TV panel manufacturing factory in Japan.
With the closure, production of such TV panels in Japan has ceased entirely.
It also marked the end of an era for Sharp, with its Aquos LCD TVs previously serving as the industry’s quality benchmark.
Source: ecoustics
Sharp has reportedly reached an agreement with investment company SoftBank, which will buy the facility and convert it into a AI data centre by 2025.
Many netizens lamented the closure, looking back fondly on the Sharp LCD TVs the bought in the past.
“Quite a shame! Sharp’s television sets are very hardy,” one commented.
Source: Facebook
“My Sharp TV set has never spoiled in eight years of usage,” another netizen claimed.
Others simply bid farewell to Sharp’s LCD monitors, which had kept them company for many years.
Source: Facebook
Also read: Sole Bata factory in Indonesia closes as company suffers 4th consecutive year in losses
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Featured image adapted from Google Maps.
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