The origins of Mitsubishi go back to 1870 when Yataro Iwasaki founded a shipping business. The organisation’s continued focus on technological development led it to diversify into new fields such as aviation and automobiles, data communications and computers, as well as consumer goods and transport. The first Mitsubishi Electric television, Model 101K-17, was launched in 1953 signalling their entry into the burgeoning market for transistor radios and televisions.

The 6x-720 radio, released in 1959, signalled Mitsubishi’s entry into the transistor radio market and forms part of a larger narrative about the miniaturisation of radios and the rivalry between manufacturers such as Sony and Mitsubishi who competed to meet increasing demand for portable radios from the United States. The moulded plastic case of this model is painted in dark seafoam green (middle) and grey (back). These colourful designs, known as reverse painted plastics, were typical of the Japanese transistor radios made between 1958 and 1962.