Can Sony Rise Again?

He hints that there might be some drastic cost cutting to come. "The experience we had transforming the U.S. is not unhelpful," he says. "We don't have a lot of [overhead] here in the U.S. Across America, we cut 9,000 jobs and $700 million out of the budget. That's the blueprint."

Stringer is well aware that his challenge is partly cultural, but he points out that Japanese managers were instrumental in Sony's U.S. overhaul. He plans to tap that well again, using his cross-cultural savvy to solidify supporters and woo doubters. "The Japanese executives' concern about Sony is palpable," he says. "They are not rooting for me to fail. Our pride has been battered, and it's time to fight back--and I don't intend to do that alone." --With reporting by Jamie Miyazaki and Michiko Toyama/ Tokyo and Bill Saporito/New York