Celebrates 90th anniversary of founding when founder Tokuji Hayakawa began his metalworking business in Tokyo in 1912 making buckles and mechanical pencils with only three employees

AQUOS LCD TVs win the Nikkei Product and Service Excellence Award, and Sharp air purifiers and air conditioners with Plasmacluster Ion generators named one of the Ten Best New Products of the year from the Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun (The Business & Technology Daily News)

Launches construction for the Kameyama Plant in Kameyama City, Mie Prefecture, for integrated production of LCD TVs, from fabricating LCD panels to final assembly of finished TV sets

Total production of Sharp refrigerators in Indonesia reaches 2 million units

Announces construction of new plant for mass production of System LCDs in Taki-cho, Mie Prefecture

Operations begin at Mihara Plant (Hiroshima Prefecture) to manufacture compound semiconductors like laser diodes

Sharp Environmental Report 2002 issued, compiling the results of Sharp’s environmental activities and policies for the future

Society of Japanese Value Engineering (SJVE) presents the prestigious Miles Award to the Communications Systems Group, responsible for mobile phones and other devices

Markets seven new AQUOS LCD TV models, including 37V-inch model. Line-up totals 25 models

Markets Muramasa ultra-thin notebook PC, the world’s thinnest (13.7 mm at thinnest point) and lightest (950 g)

Establishes 3D Consortium with the goal of creating a market for 3D image display in conjunction with the practical use of 3D LCDs

Muramasa ultra-thin notebook PC wins gold prize and Zaurus PDA silver prize in the 2003 iF Design Award competition at CeBIT held in Hannover, Germany

Signs cooperation agreement with Germany’s Loewe AG for development and supply of LCD TVs

Markets drum-type washer/dryer with Ag⁺ (silver) ion antibacterial and deodorization effect

Begins production of System LCDs at Mie Plant No. 3

Closed-loop recycling technology for waste plastic put to practical use for the first time in the industry

SEMEX in Mexico begins production of AQUOS LCD TVs

SMCA in the US starts production of PV modules

System LCDs win a product excellence award as Advanced Display of the Year

No. 1 in the world for sales of opto-devices such as laser diodes and solar cells for the past 20 years in a row

Total production of color STN LCD modules for mobile phones at WSEC in China passes the 10 million mark

Develops one-of-a-kind LCDs for mobile devices (Mobile Advanced Super View LCD with super-wide viewing angles for mobile phones and LCD Panel Speaker for audio output)

Installs additional solar cell production line with an investment of 3.5 billion yen, increasing annual production capacity in November to 248 MW, the world's largest (was 200 MW in February of the same year)

Markets industry’s first terrestrial digital HD LCD TV