Answering machine sales floor at Yamagiwa in Akihabara, Tokyo, 1989

Answering machine sales floor. The sales floor is filled with answering machines that say, "I'm out right now. The answering machine, which was introduced for business use about 10 years ago, is rapidly becoming popular in homes, even among young people living alone and working couples. Yamagiwa in Akihabara, Tokyo, February 13, 1989. Today, answering machines have become a common feature of both land lines and cell phones. The idea was conceived by Kazufu Hashimoto, a venture inventor in Japan after World War II. In Japan, audio equipment manufacturer Pioneer began full-scale sales in 1963 (Showa 38), and it was used mainly in stores and by the wealthy. It was not until the 1980s, when multifunctional telephones similar to those used these days replaced black phones, that it became commonplace in homes. Today, services that automatically transcribe voice messages into text have also appeared.