Weston was the icon of meters in Japan

Abstract

Weston Electrical Instrument Corporation was founded in 1888 and began to manufacture portable direct-current meters. At that time, the electricity power industry emerged in Japan, and in 1888, the Institute of Electrical Engineers of Japan (IEEJ) was also established. Many Weston meters were imported to Japan and used by government institutions and universities. Japanese meter manufacturers were established around 1900 and began to manufacture meters similar to Weston's meters. It took a while for them to become able to make meters that were comparable to Weston's. On the other hand, it took a long time for Japanese users to acknowledge that the performance of domestic meters achieved the level of Weston's. In other words, Weston's meters were the icon of meters for Japanese users and maintained their superiority status for a long time in Japan. The following meters were Weston's specialties: 1) Laboratory Standard Instrument (accuracy of 0.1%) 2) Portable Precision Instrument (accuracy of 0.25%) 3) Photographic Exposure Meter. Weston's superiority status in Japan continued until around 1950, after World War II. The arrival of digital instruments, however, changed the situation radically. Although the company had excellent patents, such as one for the dual-slope A/D converter, Weston Corporation passed on the opportunity to survive the competition in the meter industry.