Epic Records Japan is a Japanese record label owned by Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Its founder was Shigeo Maruyama. Between 1978 and 1988 the label operated as a wholly owned subsidiary: Epic/Sony Inc. (株式会社EPIC・ソニー) was established in August 1978 and was folded back into CBS/Sony Group in March 1988. Notable music artists for this company have included Motoharu Sano, Tetsuya Komuro, and Kimiko Itoh. In 2001, it was re-established as Epic Records Japan Inc. (株式会社エピックレコードジャパン, Kabushiki Gaisha Epikku Rekoodo Japan).