The is a group of autonomous

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

ese multinational companies in a variety of industries. Founded by

Yatarō Iwasaki Yatarō, Yataro or Yatarou is a masculine Japanese name, Japanese given name. Possible writings Yatarō can be written using different combinations of kanji characters. Here are some examples: The characters used for "taro" (太郎) literally mea ...

in 1870, the Mitsubishi Group historically descended from the Mitsubishi zaibatsu, a unified company which existed from 1870 to 1946. The company was disbanded during the

occupation of Japan Japan was occupied and administered by the victorious Allies of World War II from the 1945 surrender of the Empire of Japan at the end of the war until the Treaty of San Francisco took effect in 1952. The occupation, led by the United States wi ...

following World War II. The former constituents of the company continue to share the Mitsubishi brand and trademark. Although the group of companies participate in limited business cooperation, most famously through monthly "Friday Conference" executive meetings, they are formally independent and are not under common control. The four main companies in the group are MUFG Bank (the largest bank in Japan), Mitsubishi Corporation (a

general trading company The General Trade Company ( da, Det almindelige Handelskompagni) was a Dano-Norwegian trading company charged with administering the realm's settlements and trade in Greenland. The company existed from 1747 to 1774 and managed the government of Gre ...

Mitsubishi Electric , established on 15 January 1921, is a Japanese multinational electronics and electrical equipment manufacturing company headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is one of the core companies of Mitsubishi. The products from MELCO include elevators an ...

and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (both diversified manufacturing companies).

History

Iwasaki Yataro Photo Mitsubishi Archives

The Mitsubishi company was established as a shipping firm by

Iwasaki Yatarō was a Japanese industrialist and financier known as the founder of Mitsubishi, one of Japan's largest conglomerates. Early life Iwasaki Yatarō was born on 9 January 1835 in Aki, Tosa Province (now Kōchi Prefecture) into a provincial farmin ...

(1834–1885) in 1870 under the name . In 1873, its name was changed to ''Mitsubishi Shokai''; consists of two parts: "''mitsu''" (三) meaning "three" (as in the three oak leaves from the

crest Crest or CREST may refer to: Buildings *The Crest (Huntington, New York), a historic house in Suffolk County, New York *"The Crest", an alternate name for 63 Wall Street, in Manhattan, New York *Crest Castle (Château Du Crest), Jussy, Switzerla ...

of the Yamauchi or Tosa family that ruled over Yatarō's birthplace and employed him) and "''hishi''" (菱, which becomes "''bishi''" under rendaku) meaning " water caltrop", and hence " rhombus", which is reflected in the company's logo. It is also translated as "three diamonds". Mitsubishi was established in 1870, two years after the Meiji Restoration, with shipping as its core business. Its diversification was mostly into related fields. It entered into coal-mining to gain the coal needed for ships, bought a shipbuilding yard from the government to repair the ships it used, founded an iron mill to supply iron to the shipbuilding yard, started a marine insurance business to cater for its shipping business, and so forth. Later, the managerial resources and technological capabilities acquired through the operation of shipbuilding were used to expand the business further into the manufacture of aircraft and equipment. The experience of overseas shipping led the firm to enter into a trading business. In 1881, the company bought into

coal mining Coal mining is the process of extracting coal from the ground. Coal is valued for its energy content and since the 1880s has been widely used to generate electricity. Steel and cement industries use coal as a fuel for extraction of iron from ...

by acquiring the Takashima Mine, followed by Hashima Island in 1890, using the production to fuel their extensive

steamship A steamship, often referred to as a steamer, is a type of steam-powered vessel, typically ocean-faring and seaworthy, that is propelled by one or more steam engines that typically move (turn) propellers or paddlewheels. The first steamships ...

fleet. They also diversified into shipbuilding, banking, insurance, warehousing, and trade. Later diversification carried the organization into such sectors as paper,

steel Steel is an alloy made up of iron with added carbon to improve its strength and fracture resistance compared to other forms of iron. Many other elements may be present or added. Stainless steels that are corrosion- and oxidation-resistant ty ...

, glass, electrical equipment, aircraft, oil, and real estate. As Mitsubishi built a broadly based

conglomerate Conglomerate or conglomeration may refer to: * Conglomerate (company) * Conglomerate (geology) * Conglomerate (mathematics) In popular culture: * The Conglomerate (American group), a production crew and musical group founded by Busta Rhymes ** Co ...

, it played a central role in the modernization of Japanese industry. In February 1921, the

Mitsubishi Internal Combustion Engine Manufacturing Company is a Japanese Multinational corporation, multinational engineering, electrical equipment and electronics corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. MHI is one of the core companies of the Mitsubishi Group and its automobile division is the predec ...

in Nagoya invited British Sopwith Camel designer

Herbert Smith Herbert Smith LLP was a multinational law firm headquartered in London, United Kingdom. The firm was founded in the City of London in 1882 by Norman Herbert Smith and merged with the Australian law firm Freehills on 1 October 2012, forming Herber ...

, along with several other former Sopwith engineers to assist in creating an aircraft manufacturing division. After moving to Japan, they designed the Mitsubishi 1MT, Mitsubishi B1M,

Mitsubishi 1MF The Mitsubishi 1MF was a Japanese carrier fighter aircraft of the 1920s. Designed for the Mitsubishi Aircraft Company by the British aircraft designer Herbert Smith, the 1MF, also known as the Navy Type 10 Carrier Fighter was operated by the ...

, and

Mitsubishi 2MR The Mitsubishi 2MR was a Japanese carrier-based reconnaissance aircraft of the 1920s, also known as the Navy Type 10 Carrier Reconnaissance Aircraft or the C1M in the Navy's short designation scheme.Mitsubishi Bank (now a part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) was founded in 1919. After its mergers with the Bank of Tokyo in 1996, and UFJ Holdings in 2004, this became Japan's largest bank. * Mitsubishi Corporation, founded in 1950, Japan's largest general trading company * Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which includes these industrial companies: ** Mitsubishi Motors, the sixth-largest Japan-based

car A car or automobile is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of ''cars'' say that they run primarily on roads, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport people instead of goods. The year 1886 is regarded as ...

manufacturer. ** Mitsubishi Atomic Industry, a nuclear power company. **

Mitsubishi Chemical , or MCC, is a subsidiary of Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. It is a Japanese corporation, that merged with Mitsubishi Pharma Corporation in 2005 to create Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings Corporation. Mitsubishi Chemical is the largest ...

, the largest Japan-based chemicals company ** Mitsubishi Power, the energy systems division ** Nikon Corporation, specializing in optics and imaging. The firm's prime real estate holdings in the

Marunouchi Marunouchi () is a commercial district of Tokyo located in Chiyoda between Tokyo Station and the Imperial Palace. The name, meaning "inside the circle", derives from its location within the palace's outer moat. It is also Tokyo's financial di ...

district of Tokyo, acquired in 1890, were spun off in 1937 to form Mitsubishi Estate, now one of the largest real estate development companies in Japan.

World War II

During World War II, Mitsubishi manufactured military aircraft under the direction of Dr. Jiro Horikoshi. The Mitsubishi A6M Zero was a primary naval fighter of the Japanese military. It was used by Imperial Japanese Navy pilots throughout the war, including in '' kamikaze'' attacks during the later stages.

Allied An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are called ...

pilots were astounded by its maneuverability, and it was very successful in combat until the Allies devised tactics to use their advantage in armor and diving speed.Green and Swanborough 2001Hawks, Chuck
"The Best Fighter Planes of World War II"
chuckhawks.com. Retrieved: 30 July 2015.Thompson with Smith 2008, p. 231.Angelucci and Matricardi 1978, p. 138. Mitsubishi made use of forced labor during this tenure. Laborers included Allied prisoner of war, as well as Chinese and Korean citizens. In the post-war period, lawsuits and demands for compensations were presented against the Mitsubishi Corporation, in particular by former Chinese workers. On July 24, 2015, the company agreed to formally apologize for this wartime labor, and compensated 3,765 Chinese laborers who were conscripted to Mitsubishi Mining during the war. On July 19, 2015, the company apologized for using American prisoners of war as forced laborers during World War II, making them the first major Japanese company to apologize for doing so. Mitsubishi was involved in the

opium Opium (or poppy tears, scientific name: ''Lachryma papaveris'') is dried latex obtained from the seed capsules of the opium poppy ''Papaver somniferum''. Approximately 12 percent of opium is made up of the analgesic alkaloid morphine, which i ...

trade in China during this period.

Post-war era

Mitsubishi was among a number of major Japanese conglomerates targeted for dissolution during the

. It was broken up into a large number of smaller enterprises whose stock was offered to the public. For several years, these companies were banned from coordinating with each other and from using the Mitsubishi name and trademarks. These restrictions were lifted in 1952, as the Korean War generated a need for a stronger industrial base in Japan. Mitsubishi Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which had themselves been broken up into many smaller entities, again coalesced by the mid-1950s. Mitsubishi companies participated in Japan's unprecedented economic growth of the 1950s and 1960s. For example, as Japan modernized its energy and materials industries, the Mitsubishi companies created Mitsubishi Petrochemical, Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industries, Mitsubishi Liquefied Petroleum Gas, and Mitsubishi Petroleum Development. The traditional Mitsubishi emphasis on technological development was in new ventures in such fields as space development, aviation, ocean development, data communications, computers, and semiconductors. Mitsubishi companies also were active in consumer goods and services. In 1970, Mitsubishi companies established the Mitsubishi Foundation to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the first Mitsubishi company. The companies also individually maintain charitable foundations. Mitsubishi pavilions have been highlights of expositions in Japan since EXPO'70 in Osaka in the 1970s to 1980s. Mitsubishi, along with other manufacturers, was affected by the Kobe Steel scandal in 2017, which involved falsified data for products supplied to the aerospace, car and electric power industries. On November 28, 2018, the

South Korea Supreme Court The Supreme Court of Korea () is the highest ordinary court in the judicial branch of South Korea, seated in Seocho, Seoul. Established under Chapter 5 of the Constitution of South Korea, the Court has ultimate and comprehensive jurisdictio ...

ordered Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which serves as one of Mitsubishi's core companies, to pay 10 Koreans 150m won ($133,000; £104,000) in compensation for forced labor which it oversaw during the Japanese occupation of Korea. 18 family members of other victims of the forced labour which Mitsubishi Heavy Industries oversaw and who sued sometime before 2008 will also be awarded compensation as well. All 28 plaintiffs had previously filed a lawsuit in Japan, but had their lawsuit dismissed by the Supreme Court of Japan in 2008. The Japanese Government has responded to the court's decision that it is a breach of the international law, citing the Treaty on Basic Relations between Japan and the Republic of Korea.

Mitsubishi companies

Business form

The Mitsubishi Group is made up of about 40 individual companies without a controlling parent company. Each of the Mitsubishi companies owns substantial (but usually not controlling) portions of the shares of the others. Twenty-nine of the group companies participate in the , a luncheon meeting of their most senior executives held on the second Friday of each month. The group began its tradition of monthly executive meetings in 1952, and over time the meetings became a venue for coordinating policy between the group companies. However, by the 1990s, this practice was criticized (particularly by non-Japanese investors) as a possible violation of antitrust law. Since 1993, the Friday Conference has officially been held as a social function, and not for the purpose of discussing or coordinating business strategy. Despite this, the Friday Conference has been a venue for informal cooperation and coordination between the group companies, most notably in bailing out Mitsubishi Motors during the mid 2000s. In addition to the Friday Conference, the group companies' heads of general affairs hold a meeting on the third Monday of each month, and the group companies' legal and IP departments hold a trademark policy coordination meeting on the first Friday of each month. The company briefly dabbled in the early 1990s, when it inked a deal with

Westinghouse Broadcasting International The Westinghouse Broadcasting Company, also known as Group W, was the broadcasting division of Westinghouse Electric Corporation. It owned several radio and television stations across the United States and distributed television shows for syndicat ...

to become the Japanese sales representative.

Core members

Three of the group companies are informally known as the and hold a separate coordinating meeting prior to each Friday Conference: * Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group * Mitsubishi Corporation * Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ten other "major" group companies participate in the coordinating meeting on a rotating basis (with six of the ten companies participating in any given month): *

AGC Inc. , formerly Asahi Glass Co., Ltd.'(旭硝子株式会社), is a Japanese global glass manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. It is the largest glass company in the world and one of the core Mitsubishi companies. The company is listed on t ...

* Kirin Company * Meiji Yasuda Life * Mitsubishi Chemical Holdings *

* Mitsubishi Estate * Mitsubishi Materials * Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation * NYK Line (Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha) * Tokio Marine Nichido

Other members

* Eneos Holdings * Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation * Mitsubishi Logistics * Mitsubishi Motors * Mitsubishi Paper Mills *

Mitsubishi Plastics () is a Japanese chemical company with Head Office at 1-2-2, Nihonbashihongokucho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0021, Japan. Produces various kinds of synthetic resins. The Company's products include polyvinyl chloride pipes and films. The Company also ...

* Mitsubishi Rayon *

Mitsubishi Research Institute Mitsubishi Research Institute, Inc. (in Japanese, 三菱総合研究所 or 三菱総研 for short) (), often called MRI, was established at the centennial anniversary of Japan's Mitsubishi Group in 1970, invested by the various companies of the g ...

* Mitsubishi Shindoh * Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing :*MSSC * Mitsubishi UFJ Securities * Nikon * P.S. Mitsubishi Construction

Related organizations

Atami Yowado Atami Yowado (熱海陽和洞), Koyata Iwasaki Memorial Museum, was a second house of Koyata Iwasaki (岩崎小彌太), the fourth and last president of the Old Mitsubishi Organization, located in Atami, Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. It emulates t ...

* Chitose Kosan * Dai Nippon Toryo * The Dia Foundation for Research on Ageing Societies * Diamond Family Club * Kaitokaku * Koiwai Noboku Kaisha *

LEOC Japan () is Japan's most famous catering service company. It serves meals throughout Japan. In J. League, LEOC has been the main sponsor of pro soccer team Tokyo Verdy 1969. In August 2003 LEOC was established as a holding company of Sodexho Japan, Sode ...

* Marunouchi Yorozu *

Meiwa Corp. Meiwa Corporation (明和産業株式会社; ''Meiwa Sangyō Kabushiki Gaisha'') is a Japanese trading company in Tokyo, related to Mitsubishi group. The company was established in 1947, by members from chemicals and some other departments of for ...

Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery {{nihongo, Mitsubishi Agricultural Machinery Co., Ltd., 三菱農機株式会社, Mitsubishi Nōki Kabushiki-Gaisha is a Japanese agricultural machinery manufacturing company. Its products include tractors, combine harvesters, rice transplanters ...

* Mitsubishi C&C Research Association * Mitsubishi Club * Mitsubishi Corporate Name and Trademark Committee * Mitsubishi Economic Research Institute * Mitsubishi Electric Automation *

Mitsubishi Foundation The Mitsubishi Foundation (財団法人三菱財団; ''Zaidan Hōjin Mitsubishi Zaidan'') is a Japanese organization providing grants for academic research. History In 1970, the Mitsubishi Group established the Mitsubishi Foundation to commemorate ...

* Mitsubishi Kinyokai * Mitsubishi Marketing Association * Mitsubishi Motors North America * Mitsubishi Public Affairs Committee * The Mitsubishi Yowakai Foundation * MT Insurance Service * Nippon TCS Solution Center * Seikadō Bunko Art Museum * Shonan Country Club * Sotsu Corporation * Tōyō Bunko *

Seikei University is a private university in the Kichijōji area of the city of Musashino, Tokyo, Japan. Its name derives from a passage in the Records of the Grand Historian by Sima Qian. Its campus is noted for its rows of zelkova trees, which is listed as on ...

All Mitsubishi Lions The All Mitsubishi Lions are an American football team located in Hachiōji, Tokyo, Japan. They are a member of the X-League. Team history *2001 Team Founded. First named the Lions Finished 4th in the Central division (2 wins, 3 losses). *2002 ...

Former members

* Nippon Crown (sold to

Daiichi Kosho Company is a Japanese electronics and aircraft manufacturer that was founded in 1973 and is headquartered in Tokyo. As an electronics manufacturer the company specializes in karaoke equipment. History Between about 1992 and 2003 the company branched i ...

in 2001)

References

External links

* * {{Authority control Aircraft manufacturers of Japan Anti-Japanese sentiment in Korea Companies based in Osaka Prefecture Conglomerate companies based in Tokyo Conglomerate companies established in 1870 Display technology companies Japanese companies established in 1870 Keiretsu Manufacturing companies based in Tokyo Multinational companies headquartered in Japan Pulp and paper companies of Japan Rolling stock manufacturers of Japan Zaibatsu