is a
Japanese term referring to industrial and financial
vertically integrated
In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the supply ...
business
conglomerates in the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...
, whose influence and size allowed control over significant parts of the
Japanese economy from the
Meiji period
The is an era of Japanese history that extended from October 23, 1868 to July 30, 1912.
The Meiji era was the first half of the Empire of Japan, when the Japanese people moved from being an isolated feudal society at risk of colonization ...
until the end of
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. A ''zaibatsu'' general structure included a family-owned holding company on top, and a bank which financed the other, mostly industrial subsidiaries within them. Although the ''zaibatsu'' played an important role in the Japanese economy from the 1860s to 1945, they increased in number and importance following the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905,
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
and Japan's subsequent attempt to conquer East Asia during the
inter-war period and
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
. After
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 World War II by country, vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great power ...
they were dissolved by the
Allied occupation forces and succeeded by the ''
keiretsu'' (groups of banks, manufacturers, suppliers, and distributors). Equivalents to the ''zaibatsu'' can still be found in other countries, such as the ''
chaebol'' conglomerates of
South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea (ROK), is a country in East Asia, constituting the southern part of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and sharing a Korean Demilitarized Zone, land border with North Korea. Its western border is formed ...
.
Terminology
The term ''zaibatsu'' was coined in 19th century Japan from the
Sino-Japanese roots ''zai'' ('wealth', from
Middle Chinese
Middle Chinese (formerly known as Ancient Chinese) or the Qieyun system (QYS) is the historical variety of Chinese recorded in the '' Qieyun'', a rime dictionary first published in 601 and followed by several revised and expanded editions. The ...
) and ('clique', 'group', from Middle Chinese ). Although ''zaibatsu'' themselves existed from the 19th century, the term was not in common use until after
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. By definition, the ''zaibatsu'' were large
family-controlled vertical monopolies consisting of a
holding company
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
on top, with a wholly-owned banking subsidiary providing finance, and several
industrial subsidiaries dominating specific sectors of a market, either solely, or through a number of subsidiary companies.
Significance
The ''zaibatsu'' were the heart of economic and industrial activity within the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...
, and held great influence over Japanese national and foreign policies. The ''
Rikken Seiyūkai''
political party
A political party is an organization that coordinates candidates to compete in a particular country's elections. It is common for the members of a party to hold similar ideas about politics, and parties may promote specific ideological or p ...
was regarded as an extension of the
Mitsui group, which also had very strong connections with 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 Emper ...
. Likewise, the ''
Rikken Minseitō
was one of the main political parties in pre-war Empire of Japan. It was commonly known as the ''Minseitō''.
History
The ''Minseitō'' was founded on 1 June 1927, by a merger of the ''Kenseikai'' and the ''Seiyu Hontō'' political parties. ...
'' was connected to the
Mitsubishi group, as was the
Imperial Japanese Navy
The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN; Kyūjitai: Shinjitai: ' 'Navy of the Greater Japanese Empire', or ''Nippon Kaigun'', 'Japanese Navy') was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender ...
.
The ''zaibatsu'' were viewed with suspicion by both the right and left of the political spectrum in the 1920s and 1930s. Although the world was in the throes of a worldwide
economic depression
An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economical downturn that is result of lowered economic activity in one major or more national economies. Economic depression maybe related to one specific country were there is some economic ...
, the ''zaibatsu'' were prospering through
currency speculation
In finance, speculation is the purchase of an asset (a commodity, goods, or real estate) with the hope that it will become more valuable shortly. (It can also refer to short sales in which the speculator hopes for a decline in value.)
Many ...
, maintenance of low labour costs and military procurement. Matters came to a head in the
League of Blood Incident of March 1932, with the assassination of the
managing director
A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a central executive officer (CEO), chief administrator officer (CAO) or just chief executive (CE), is one of a number of corporate executives charged with the management of an organization especiall ...
of Mitsui, after which the ''zaibatsu'' attempted to improve their public image through increased charity work.
History and development
The ''zaibatsu'' were at the heart of economic and industrial activity within the
Empire of Japan
The also known as the Japanese Empire or Imperial Japan, was a historical nation-state and great power that existed from the Meiji Restoration in 1868 until the enactment of the post-World War II 1947 constitution and subsequent form ...
since Japanese industrialization accelerated during the
Meiji era.
["The Rise and Fall of the Zaibatsu: Japan's Industrial and Economic Modernization", David A. C. Addicott, Pepperdine University, https://digitalcommons.pepperdine.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1259&context=globaltides] They held great influence over Japanese national and foreign policies which only increased following the Japanese victory over Russia in the
Russo-Japanese War
The Russo-Japanese War ( ja, 日露戦争, Nichiro sensō, Japanese-Russian War; russian: Ру́сско-япóнская войнá, Rússko-yapónskaya voyná) was fought between the Empire of Japan and the Russian Empire during 1904 and 1 ...
of 1904–1905
and Japan's victories over Germany during
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was List of wars and anthropogenic disasters by death toll, one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, ...
. During the
inter-war period the ''zaibatsu'' aided Japanese militarism and benefited from the conquest of East Asia by receiving lucrative contracts.
When Japan emerged from the self-imposed, pre-Meiji era ''
sakoku
was the isolationist foreign policy of the Japanese Tokugawa shogunate under which, for a period of 265 years during the Edo period (from 1603 to 1868), relations and trade between Japan and other countries were severely limited, and nearly a ...
'' in 1867, Western countries already had very dominant and internationally significant companies.
Standard Oil
Standard Oil Company, Inc., was an American oil production, transportation, refining, and marketing company that operated from 1870 to 1911. At its height, Standard Oil was the largest petroleum company in the world, and its success made its co- ...
,
Carnegie Steel Company,
AT&T
AT&T Inc. is an American multinational telecommunications holding company headquartered at Whitacre Tower in Downtown Dallas, Texas. It is the world's largest telecommunications company by revenue and the third largest provider of mobile ...
,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable ene ...
,
Western Union
The Western Union Company is an American multinational financial services company, headquartered in Denver, Colorado.
Founded in 1851 as the New York and Mississippi Valley Printing Telegraph Company in Rochester, New York, the company cha ...
,
Friedrich Krupp AG,
Thyssen AG,
Robert Bosch GmbH,
Lloyd's of London,
Reckitt and Sons,
East India Company
The East India Company (EIC) was an English, and later British, joint-stock company founded in 1600 and dissolved in 1874. It was formed to trade in the Indian Ocean region, initially with the East Indies (the Indian subcontinent and Sou ...
, and
British Petroleum were very dominant and were the major players in international trade. The
British Empire
The British Empire was composed of the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It began with the overseas possessions and trading posts e ...
, under the leadership of the
Baring family, the
Rothschild family and the
Guinness family, as well as
Imperial Germany
The German Empire (),Herbert Tuttle wrote in September 1881 that the term "Reich" does not literally connote an empire as has been commonly assumed by English-speaking people. The term literally denotes an empire – particularly a hereditary ...
and other European countries were colonizing much of the undeveloped world, and Japanese companies realized that in order to remain sovereign, they needed to develop the same methodology and mindset of North American and European companies, and the ''zaibatsu'' emerged.
Big four
The of, in chronological order of founding,
Sumitomo
The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period.
History
The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Mas ...
,
Mitsui,
Mitsubishi, and
Yasuda were the most significant ''zaibatsu'' groups. Two of them, Sumitomo and Mitsui, had roots in the
Edo period
The or is the period between 1603 and 1867 in the history of Japan, when Japan was under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate and the country's 300 regional '' daimyo''. Emerging from the chaos of the Sengoku period, the Edo period was character ...
while Mitsubishi and Yasuda traced their origins to the
Meiji Restoration
The , referred to at the time as the , and also known as the Meiji Renovation, Revolution, Regeneration, Reform, or Renewal, was a political event that restored practical imperial rule to Japan in 1868 under Emperor Meiji. Although there were ...
. Throughout Meiji to Shōwa, the government employed their financial powers and expertise for various endeavors, including
tax collection, military procurement and
foreign trade.
New ''zaibatsu''
Beyond the big four, consensus is lacking as to which companies can be called ''zaibatsu'', and which cannot. After the Russo-Japanese War, a number of so-called "second-tier" ''zaibatsu'' also emerged, mostly as the result of business conglomerations and the awarding of lucrative military contracts. Some more famous second-tier ''zaibatsu'' include the
Ōkura,
Furukawa, and
Nakajima groups.
The early ''zaibatsu'' permitted some
public shareholding of some subsidiary companies, but never of the top holding company or key subsidiaries.
The monopolistic business practices by the ''zaibatsu'' resulted in a closed circle of companies until Japanese industrial expansion on the Asian mainland (
Manchukuo) began in the 1930s, which allowed for the rise of a number of new groups (''shinko zaibatsu''), including
Nissan
, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...
. These new ''zaibatsu'' differed from the traditional ''zaibatsu'' only in that they were not controlled by specific families, and not in terms of business practices.
Postwar dissolution
The ''zaibatsu'' had been viewed with some ambivalence by the
Japanese military
The Japan Self-Defense Forces ( ja, 自衛隊, Jieitai; abbreviated JSDF), also informally known as the Japanese Armed Forces, are the unified ''de facto''Since Article 9 of the Japanese Constitution outlaws the formation of armed forces, the ...
, which
nationalized a significant portion of their production capability during World War II. Remaining assets were also highly damaged by destruction during the war.
Under the
Allied occupation after the
surrender of Japan
The surrender of the Empire of Japan in World War II was announced by Emperor Hirohito on 15 August and formally signed on 2 September 1945, bringing the war's hostilities to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Na ...
, a partially successful attempt was made to dissolve the ''zaibatsu''. Many of the economic advisors accompanying the
SCAP
SCAP may refer to:
* S.C.A.P., an early French manufacturer of cars and engines
* Security Content Automation Protocol
* '' The Shackled City Adventure Path'', a role-playing game
* SREBP cleavage activating protein
* Supervisory Capital Assessm ...
administration had experience with the
New Deal and were highly suspicious of
monopolies and restrictive business practices, which they felt to be both inefficient, and to be a form of
corporatocracy (and thus inherently anti-
democratic).
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 ...
, sixteen ''zaibatsu'' were targeted for complete dissolution, and twenty-six more for reorganization after dissolution. Among the ''zaibatsu'' that were targeted for dissolution in 1947 were Asano, Furukawa, Nakajima,
Nissan
, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...
, Nomura, and Okura. In addition, Yasuda dissolved itself in 1946. The controlling families' assets were seized,
holding companies
A holding company is a company whose primary business is holding a controlling interest in the securities of other companies. A holding company usually does not produce goods or services itself. Its purpose is to own shares of other companies ...
eliminated, and interlocking
directorships, essential to the old system of inter-company coordination, were outlawed. The
Matsushita Electric Industrial Company (which later took the name Panasonic), while not a ''zaibatsu'', was originally also targeted for breakup, but was saved by a petition signed by 15,000 of its
union workers and their families.
However, complete dissolution of the ''zaibatsu'' was never achieved, mostly because the U.S. government rescinded the orders in an effort to reindustrialize Japan as a bulwark against
communism
Communism (from Latin la, communis, lit=common, universal, label=none) is a far-left sociopolitical, philosophical, and economic ideology and current within the socialist movement whose goal is the establishment of a communist society, ...
in Asia.
[
In his 1967 memoirs, Kennan wrote that aside from the ]Marshall Plan
The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred over $13 billion (equivalent of about $ in ) in economic re ...
, setting the "reverse course" in Japan was "the most significant contribution I was ever able to make in government". George F. Kennan, ''Memoirs'', 1925-50 (Boston, 1967), 393. ''Zaibatsu'' as a whole were widely considered to be beneficial to the Japanese economy and government, and the opinions of the Japanese public, of the ''zaibatsu'' workers and management, and of the entrenched bureaucracy regarding plans for ''zaibatsu'' dissolution ranged from unenthusiastic to disapproving. Additionally, the changing politics of the occupation during the
reverse course served as a crippling, if not terminal, roadblock to ''zaibatsu'' elimination.
Modern-day influence
Today, the influence of the ''zaibatsu'' can still be seen in the form of financial groups, institutions, and larger companies whose origins reach back to the original ''zaibatsu'', often sharing the same original family names (for example,
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation
is a Japanese multinational banking and financial services institution headquartered in Yurakucho, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The group operates in retail, corporate, and investment banking segment worldwide. It provides financial products and se ...
). However, some argue that the "old mechanisms of financial and administrative control" that ''zaibatsu'' once enjoyed have been destroyed. Despite the absence of an actual sweeping change to the existence of large industrial conglomerates in Japan, the ''zaibatsu's'' previous
vertically integrated
In microeconomics, management and international political economy, vertical integration is a term that describes the arrangement in which the supply chain of a company is integrated and owned by that company. Usually each member of the supply ...
chain of command, ending with a single family, has now widely been displaced by the horizontal relationships of association and coordination characteristic of .
Keiretsu, meaning "series" or "
subsidiary
A subsidiary, subsidiary company or daughter company is a company owned or controlled by another company, which is called the parent company or holding company. Two or more subsidiaries that either belong to the same parent company or having a ...
", could be interpreted as being suggestive of this difference.
List of ''zaibatsu''
The "big four"
*
Mitsubishi (三菱財閥)
*
Mitsui (三井財閥)
*
Sumitomo
The is one of the largest Japanese ''keiretsu'', or business groups, founded by Masatomo Sumitomo (1585-1652) around 1615 during the early Edo period.
History
The Sumitomo Group traces its roots to a bookshop in Kyoto founded circa 1615 by Mas ...
(住友財閥)
*
Yasuda (安田財閥)
Second-tier ''zaibatsu''
*
Asano
Asano (written: 浅野, or hiragana あさの) is a Japanese language surname. Notable people with the surname include:
*Asano clan, samurai family in feudal Japan.
**Asano Naganori, Important historical figure title: Takumi no Kami
**Asano Na ...
(浅野財閥)
*
Fujita (藤田財閥)
*
Furukawa (古河財閥)
*
Mori
Mori is a Japanese and Italian surname, and also a Persian pet name for Morteza. It is also the name of two clans in Japan, and one clan in India.
Italian surname
* Barbara Mori, Uruguayan-Mexican actress
*Camilo Mori, Chilean painter
* Cesa ...
(森コンツェルン)
*
Kawasaki (川崎財閥)
*
Nakajima (中島飛行機)
*
Nichitsu (日窒コンツェルン)
*
Nissan
, trading as Nissan Motor Corporation and often shortened to Nissan, is a Japanese multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the Nissan, Infiniti, and Datsun bra ...
(日産コンツェルン)
*
Nisso (日曹コンツェルン)
*
Nomura (野村財閥)
*
Okura (大倉財閥)
*
Riken (理研コンツェルン)
*
Shibusawa (渋沢財閥)
Bankrupt ''zaibatsu''
*
Suzuki shoten (鈴木商店)
Popular culture
The term ''zaibatsu'' has been used often in books, comics, games, and films, referring to large and usually sinister Japanese corporations, who are often involved in shady dealings or have connections to the
yakuza. Examples include the
Mishima Zaibatsu
is a Japanese media franchise centered on a series of fighting video and arcade games developed and published by Bandai Namco Entertainment (formerly Namco). The franchise also includes film and print adaptations.
The main games in the series ...
, which is prominently featured in the
''Tekken'' series, the ''Zaibatsu'' criminal group in ''
Grand Theft Auto 2'', and various writings of pioneer
cyberpunk
Cyberpunk is a subgenre of science fiction in a dystopian futuristic setting that tends to focus on a "combination of lowlife and high tech", featuring futuristic technological and scientific achievements, such as artificial intelligence and ...
author
William Gibson. In other cases ''zaibatsu'' are used simply to provide the background for a character from an influential family, such as in the case of the F4 in ''
Boys Before Flowers'' who are the sons and
heirs
Inheritance is the practice of receiving private property, titles, debts, entitlements, privileges, rights, and obligations upon the death of an individual. The rules of inheritance differ among societies and have changed over time. Offic ...
of the four biggest corporations in Japan.
* In the
Tom Clancy
Thomas Leo Clancy Jr. (April 12, 1947 – October 1, 2013) was an American novelist. He is best known for his technically detailed espionage and military-science storylines set during and after the Cold War. Seventeen of his novels have b ...
book ''
Debt of Honor'', a group of ''zaibatsu'' seize control of Japan and invade the US-held
Mariana Islands.
* The video game ''
Grand Theft Auto 2'' features a gang called the Zaibatsu that the player can take jobs from. It is the largest gang in the game, and the eventual final enemy.
* The video game ''
Hearts of Iron IV
''Hearts of Iron IV'', also known as HOI4, is a grand strategy computer wargame developed by Paradox Development Studio and published by Paradox Interactive. It was released worldwide on 6 June 2016. It is the sequel to 2009's '' Hearts of Iro ...
'' features the Zaibatsus as a modifier for the nation of
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 n ...
. This modifier is present at the start of the game in 1936 which causes a small percentage of increase in faster civilian, military, and naval factory construction with the trade-off of gaining less political power, increasing political power cost of trade laws, and higher economy costs.
*
Karin Kanzuki
is a fictional character in the Capcom's ''Street Fighter'' series. She made her first appearance in the manga '' Sakura Ganbaru!'', and makes her first appearance as a playable video game character in the 1998 video game ''Street Fighter Alpha ...
, a character from the ''
Street Fighter'' series, is the heiress to the Kanzuki ''zaibatsu''.
* The Itoshiki family from ''
Sayonara Zetsubō Sensei
is a Japanese manga series written and illustrated by Kōji Kumeta. It was serialized in Kodansha's ''Weekly Shōnen Magazine'' from April 2005 to June 2012, with its chapters collected in 30 ''tankōbon'' volumes. The series follows No ...
'' owns a ''zaibatsu'' to accentuate their heavy economic and political background.
* In the ''
Tekken'' series, the Mishima Zaibatsu is the major organization behind the tournaments.
* In the manga ''
Tokyo Ghoul'', Shuu Tsukiyama is the heir to the Tsukiyama Group, a powerful international business conglomerate that originated as a ''zaibatsu''.
* In the tabletop role-playing game ''
Shadowrun'', several of the Big Ten mega-corporations are formed from the old ''zaibatsu'' and still carry on their managerial styles in the Japanese Imperial State in the sixth world, prominent examples being Renraku and Mitsuhama Computer Technologies.
* In the board game ''
Nippon'', players control ''zaibatsu'' and try to grow their influence and power as they oversee the era of rapid industrialization of Japan.
* In the manga and anime ''
Urusei Yatsura'', the character
Shutaro Mendou is the heir to the Mendou ''zaibatsu'', the wealthiest and most powerful ''zaibatsu'' with its own private army and even private air force. His rival
Tobimaro Mizunokoji is the heir to the Mizunokoji ''zaibatsu'', the second wealthiest and second most powerful ''zaibatsu'' which also has its own private military. Their sisters
Ryoko Mendou and
Asuka Mizunokoji are also important characters, with Ryoko Mendou commanding large numbers of
kuroko
are stagehands in traditional Japanese theatre, who dress all in black.
Lexical background
黒衣 primarily read kurogo, differentiating from the other readings kokui/kokue/kuroginu "black clothes", the go/gi suffix underlining the wearing i ...
and setting up elaborate, very expensive and destructive schemes, and Asuka Mizunokoji being terrified of all men except for her brother and also having such extreme superhuman strength due to an entire lifetime of military training that it makes the superhuman strength of
Shinobu Miyake
The ''Urusei Yatsura'' manga series features a large ensemble cast of characters created by Rumiko Takahashi. It tells the story of Japanese teenager Ataru Moroboshi, and the alien Lum, who believes she is Ataru's wife after he accidentally pr ...
seem normal by comparison.
* In the manga and anime ''
Killing Bites
is a Japanese manga series written by Shinya Murata and illustrated by Kazuasa Sumita. It has been serialized since November 2013 in Hero's Inc.'s ''seinen'' manga magazine ''Monthly Hero's''. It has been collected in eighteen ''tankōbon'' ...
'', the plot revolves around four ''zaibatsu'' and the bloody to-the-death tournaments members of them participate in against other ''zaibatsu'' teams. Recently, through gene splicing or similar technology, all of the fighters have been turned into creatures called Therianthropes – people with abilities to make partial, and in some cases complete, transformations into animals, and take on many characteristics of these animals.
*In the manga and anime ''
Kaguya-sama: Love Is War,'' the female protagonist Kaguya Shinomiya is the daughter of the leader of the fictitious Shinomiya group, one of the big four ''zaibatsu'' of an alternate history.
See also
*
Big business
Big business involves large-scale corporate-controlled financial or business activities. As a term, it describes activities that run from "huge transactions" to the more general "doing big things". In corporate jargon, the concept is commonly ...
*
Chaebol
*
Concern
*
Conglomerate (company)
A conglomerate () is a multi-industry company – i.e., a combination of multiple business entities operating in entirely different industries under one corporate group, usually involving a parent company and many subsidiaries. Conglomerat ...
*
Four big families of Hong Kong
*
Four big families of the Republic of China
*
Konzern
*
The Hongs
*
Japanese post-war economic miracle
*
Thirteen Factories
References
Notes
Bibliography
* Alletzhauser, Albert J. ''The House of Nomura''. New York:
Harper Perennial, 1991. .
*
Allinson, Gary D. ''Japan's Postwar History''. Ithaca, New York:
Cornell University Press
The Cornell University Press is the university press of Cornell University; currently housed in Sage House, the former residence of Henry William Sage. It was first established in 1869, making it the first university publishing enterprise in ...
, 1997. .
* Aoki, Masahiko & Hyung-Ki Kim
''Corporate Governance in Transitional Economies: Insider Control and the Role of Banks'' Retrieved online 28 June 2004. Print edition: Washington, D.C.: World Bank Office of the Publisher, 1995. .
*
* Schenkein, Joshua (2014).
Japan, the Great Power: Industrialization Through the Lens of Zaibatsu'. .
External links
{{Authority control
*
Business families
Economic history of Japan
Empire of Japan
Japanese business terms
Strategic management