Sharp Corporation

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company_logo = Image:Sharp logo.png |
foundation = Tokyo, Japan (1912) |
location = Osaka, Japan |
key_people =  Katsuhiko Machida, President |
num_employees = 47,600 (Consolidated, as of August 31, 2005) |
revenue = Image:Green up.png 2,539 billion Yen (Fiscal year ended March 31, 2005) |
industry = Electronics |
products = Audio-Visual and communication equipments, Home appliances, Information equipments, ICs, LCDs, Other electronic components |
homepage = SHARP World Index|

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Template:Nihongo (Template:Tyo) is a Japanese electronics manufacturer, founded in 1912. It takes its name from one of its founder's first inventions, the Ever-Ready Sharp mechanical pencil, which was invented by Tokuji Hayakawa(早川徳次) in 1915 [1].

After the pencil business was destroyed by the Great Kantō earthquake in 1923, the company relocated to Osaka and started designing the first Japanese radio sets. These went on sale in 1925. In 1953 it started production of the first television sets in Japan. Other notable achievements include the world's first all-transistor desktop calculator in 1964 and the first LCD calculator in 1973. LCD technology continues to be a key part of Sharp's product range, in both the component and the consumer-appliance sides of the business.

Sharp's logo became iconic between 1982 and 2000 when English football club Manchester United displayed it on their shirts as part of a sponsorship deal. Because much of these 18 years were something of a golden era for the club, with a (coincidental) decline in fortunes happening once Vodafone became the new shirt sponsors in 2000, some fans now term this period - particularly 1993-1999, as The Sharp Years.

Core technologies and products include: solar panels, audio-visual entertainment equipment, LCD panels, projectors, photocopiers, microwave ovens, cash registers, CMOS and CCD sensors, and flash memory.

Recent products include the ViewCam, the Ultra-Lite notebook PC, the Zaurus personal digital assistant, and the Aquos flat screen television.

Net sales for the year 2003/4 were $16.8 billion. The Corporation employs 46,600 staff, of which around half live outside Japan. It operates from 64 bases in 30 countries and its products are distributed in 164 countries worldwide. Many of its regional subsidiaries trade under the name "Sharp Electronics".