60 years of organic semiconductor research and development in Japan

Sixty years of research and development on organic semiconductors in Japan is reviewed. The concept of organic semiconductors was given as early as 1954, and early basic studies on organic semiconductors using single crystals of high-purity aromatic hydrocarbons started. Studies of device applications of organic semiconductors, organic electroluminescent devices, organic thin film transistors, and organic solar cells followed, and the first commercial products, small organic electroluminescent displays appeared in 1997.