Japan’s leading TV manufacturers are teaming up to compete against South Korea’s Samsung Electronics, according to Asahi Shimbun. Sony Corp. and Panasonic Corp. are working together on the next-generation TV panels called OLED (organic light-emitting diode) TVs, sharing core technologies.

The joint venture between the two rivals will boost their market shares after falling behind Samsung. Both companies recorded losses for fiscal 2011. This underlines the pressure for Japanese manufactures to compete against Samsung in the television market, beleaguered by a drop in prices and a soaring yen.

Sony introduced the first OLED TV that came in a small size of 11 inches back in 2007 but it flunked in the market. Samsung is planning to sell bigger OLED screened TVs later this year. Sony and Panasonic aims for a low-cost production of the OLED TVs by 2013.

Fitch Ratings told Asahi Shimbun that the long-standing rivals decision to tie-up underscores “the fall of Japanese tech companies”. Analysts say that Japanese TV companies may face competition with Apple Inc. in the coming years.