The () was an industrial conglomerate, or ''
zaibatsu
is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signi ...
,'' in the
Japanese
Japanese may refer to:
* Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia
* Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan
* Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture
** Japanese diaspor ...
-controlled
Empire of Manchuria
Manchukuo, officially the State of Manchuria prior to 1934 and the Empire of (Great) Manchuria after 1934, was a puppet state of the Empire of Japan in Northeast China, Manchuria from 1932 until 1945. It was founded as a republic in 1932 afte ...
(Manchukuo), established at the instigation of the
Imperial Japanese Army
The was the official ground-based armed force of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945. It was controlled by the Imperial Japanese Army General Staff Office and the Ministry of the Army, both of which were nominally subordinate to the Emperor o ...
to further the industrialization of Manchukuo, and in particular, to make it
self-sufficient in strategic
heavy industries
Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); or ...
.
History
Following on the economic success of the
South Manchurian Railway Company
The South Manchuria Railway ( ja, 南満州鉄道, translit=Minamimanshū Tetsudō; ), officially , Mantetsu ( ja, 満鉄, translit=Mantetsu) or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operatio ...
, and its various subsidiaries, such as the
Showa Steel Works
The () was a Japanese government-sponsored steel mill that was one of the showpieces of the industrialization program for Manchukuo in the late 1930s.
Shōwa Steel Works began as the ''Anshan Iron & Steel Works'', a subsidiary of the South Ma ...
, ideological and economic planners from the
Kwantung Army
''Kantō-gun''
, image = Kwantung Army Headquarters.JPG
, image_size = 300px
, caption = Kwantung Army headquarters in Hsinking, Manchukuo
, dates = April ...
developed a comprehensive plan for the future economic and industrial development of Manchukuo per a
state socialist
State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition f ...
model with a
command economy
A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, part ...
. Prominent Japanese entrepreneur and technocrat,
Yoshisuke Aikawa
was a Japanese entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, noteworthy as the founder and first president of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' (1931–1945), one of Japan's most powerful business conglomerates around the time of the Second World War.
Biogr ...
, the founder of the
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
''zaibatsu'' was invited to Manchukuo and asked to establish the Manchukuo Industrial Development Company, a
joint venture
A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acces ...
owned 50% by Nissan and 50% by the Manchukuo government, which would oversee the central plan.
The original plan under
Naoki Hoshino
was a bureaucrat and politician who served in the Taishō period, Taishō and early Shōwa period Government of Japan, Japanese government, and as an official in the Manchukuo, Empire of Manchukuo.
Biography
Hoshino was born in Yokohama, where ...
and other Army planners envisioned a
syndicalist
Syndicalism is a revolutionary current within the left-wing of the labor movement that seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes with the eventual goal of gaining control over the means of pr ...
economy, with the military allocating monopolies of one firm per industry. From 1932, the Japanese military had created 26 new companies, ranging from automobiles, aircraft, oil refining, shipping, etc.
Aikawa countered that this policy was unrealistic given the undeveloped state of Manchukuo's resources and industrial infrastructure, and persuaded the military leaders that there should be a single state-controlled entity to manage all of resource development and heavy industry. Aikawa argued that the
automotive industry
The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, and selling of motor vehicles. It is one of the world's largest industry ...
and
aircraft industry
An aircraft is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or by using the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or in a few cases the downward thrust from jet engines ...
both required a large number of subcontractors, few of whom where present in Manchukuo. To develop these strategic industries, would be necessary to develop all related machinery industries simultaneously.
[Samuels, Rich Nation, Strong Army. pp.102]
In October 1937, Aikawa was given his way, and the ''Manshū Jukōgyō Kaihatsu Yoko'' (Manchurian Heavy Industrial Development Corporation) was established under the aegis of
Nissan
, trade name, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells ...
, which also moved its headquarters to
Hsinking
Changchun (, ; ), also romanized as Ch'angch'un, is the capital and largest city of Jilin Province, People's Republic of China. Lying in the center of the Songliao Plain, Changchun is administered as a , comprising 7 districts, 1 county and 3 c ...
, Manchukuo. Aikawa was guaranteed loans from the
Industrial Bank of Japan
The Industrial Bank of Japan, Limited (IBJ), based in Tokyo, Japan, was one of the largest banks in the world during the latter half of the 20th century.
It combined with Dai-Ichi Kangyo Bank and Fuji Bank in 2002 to form Mizuho Financial Group ...
,
Bank of Japan
The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It has its headquarters in Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo.
History
Like most modern Japanese instituti ...
using the
natural resources
Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest and cultural value. O ...
of Manchukuo as
collateral
Collateral may refer to:
Business and finance
* Collateral (finance), a borrower's pledge of specific property to a lender, to secure repayment of a loan
* Marketing collateral, in marketing and sales
Arts, entertainment, and media
* ''Collate ...
, and was granted exemption from dual taxation.
[Young, Japan's Total Empire, pp.208] The South Manchurian Railway Company, Showa Steel Company and other major industrial concerns in Manchukuo were tied into the new company through cross-holding of shares.
In its initial phases, the new conglomerate was a tremendous success, pulling investment into Manchukuo at a tremendous rate. New industries were created along the transportation routes established by the South Manchurian Railway, and the industrial output of Manchukuo began to outstrip Japan in certain sectors by the end of the first Five Year Plan. However, Aikawa faced numerous difficulties partly due to issues with his politics (which were often at odds with the Kwantung Army leadership), and partly due to interference in the operations of Mangyō by members of the Manchukuo civil government. Aikawa resigned in 1942, and moved back to Japan.
He was replaced by Tatsunosuke Takasaki; however, with the growing demands of the military due to
World War II
World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...
and the ongoing quagmire for the Japanese military in China, Mangyō faced severe problems in raw materials, labor, and the subordination of its production into military requirements.
Mangyō was dissolved with the destruction of Manchukuo by the
Soviet
The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army (Russian: Рабо́че-крестья́нская Кра́сная армия),) often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Federative Socialist Republic and, after ...
in the
invasion of Manchuria at the end of World War II.
References
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Notes
{{Authority control
Companies in Manchukuo
Empire of Japan
Military history of Japan during World War II
Defunct companies of Japan