Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc.

Japanese record company, incorporated in April 1991. Known in Japanese as 株式会社ソニー・ミュージックエンタテインメント. Please do not enter as a label. Its predecessor was CBS/Sony Records Inc., established in 1968 as a Tokyo-based 50/50 joint venture between Sony Corporation and U.S. conglomerate CBS to distribute the latter's music releases in Japan. In August 1973, the company was renamed to CBS/Sony Inc., and in 1983 to CBS/Sony Group Inc. In March 1988, four wholly owned subsidiaries were folded into CBS/Sony Group: CBS/Sony Inc., Epic/Sony Records Inc., CBS/Sony Records Inc. and Sony Video Software International. Until March 2007, Sony Music Japan also had its own North American sublabel, Tofu Records. Sony Music Japan releases now appear on Columbia or Epic in North America. Sony Music Entertainment (Japan) Inc. is wholly owned by the Sony Corporation of Japan and independent from the US-based Sony Music Entertainment Inc. which is owned by Sony Corporation Of America. Many Japanese CDs from 1991 till 2007 have a mould manufacturing print around the center hole in the HUB as 'SMJ' - please use: 'Pressed By' in LCCN.