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zaibatsu
zaibatsu [Jap.,=money clique], the great family-controlled banking and industrial combines of modern Japan. The leading zaibatsu (called keiretsu after World War II) are Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Dai Ichi Kangyo, Sumitomo, Sanwa, and Fuyo. They gained a position in the Japanese economy with no exact parallel elsewhere. Although the Mitsui were powerful bankers under the shogunate, most of the other zaibatsu developed after the Meiji restoration (1868), when, by subsidies and a favorable tax policy, the new government granted them a privileged position in the economic development of Japan. Later they helped finance strategic semiofficial enterprises in Japan and abroad, particularly in Taiwan and Korea. In the early 1930s the military clique tried to break the economic power of the zaibatsu but failed. In 1937 the four leading zaibatsu controlled directly one third of all bank deposits, one third of all foreign trade, one half of Japan's shipbuilding and maritime shipping, and most of the heavy industries. They maintained close relations with the major political parties. After Japan's surrender (1945) in World War II, the breakup of the zaibatsu was announced as a major aim of the Allied occupation, but in the 1950s and 1960s groups based on the old zaibatsu reemerged as keiretsu. The decision on the part of these groups in the post-World War II era to pool their resources greatly influenced Japan's subsequent rise as a global business power. |
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"zaibatsu." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zaibatsu." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-zaibatsu.html "zaibatsu." The Columbia Encyclopedia, 6th ed.. 2008. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1E1-zaibatsu.html |
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zaibatsu
zaibatsu Enormous Japanese prewar trust companies, which exercised extensive influence over key areas of the prewar economy through their ownership of hundreds of businesses. Share ownership of the key holding companies of the zaibatsu was held by a single family alone, although that family was often divided into various branches. In Japan in the late nineteenth century, these families had been able to provide the rare capital necessary for Japan's rapid industrialization. The most prominent zaibatsu, which included famous organizations with a long history such as the Mitsui, Mitsubishi, as well as the so called ‘new zaibatsu’ which emerged in the twentieth century such as the Nissan, developed interests in areas as diverse as mining, transport, industry, commerce, and finance. After World War II, the US occupation identified the zaibatsu's dominance of the economy as one of the causes of Japanese militarism in the 1920s and 1930s and introduced measures to dissolve them. Ties between some of these companies have endured, although no precise equivalent to the zaibatsu exists today.
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JAN PALMOWSKI. "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. JAN PALMOWSKI. "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-zaibatsu.html JAN PALMOWSKI. "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of Contemporary World History. 2004. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O46-zaibatsu.html |
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zaibatsu
zaibatsu Japanese business conglomerates. The zaibatsu (literally ‘financial clique’) were large business concerns, with ownership concentrated in the hands of a single family, which grew up in the industrialization of late 19th-century Japan. They had their origins in the activities of the seisho (‘political merchants’), who made their fortunes by exploiting business links with the newly restored Meiji government. The five major zaibatsu (Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Okura, Sumitomo, Yasuda) controlled much of Japanese industry and trade up to World War II. In 1948 a decree limited the influence of the traditional zaibatsu families, and prevented members of these families from continuing to hold official positions in zaibatsu companies. The influence of the zaibatsu therefore declined. They are now more usually known in Japan as keiretsu.
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Cite this article
"zaibatsu." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-zaibatsu.html "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of World History. 2000. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O48-zaibatsu.html |
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zaibatsu
zaibatsu Large industrial conglomerates in Japan formed after the Meiji Restoration (1868). Headed by powerful families such as Mitsui and Mitsubishi, they dominated the Japanese economy in the early 20th century. Although broken up during the US occupation after 1945, they subsequently reformed and reclaimed their dominant position.
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"zaibatsu." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zaibatsu." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-zaibatsu.html "zaibatsu." World Encyclopedia. 2005. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O142-zaibatsu.html |
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zaibatsu
zaibatsu A Japanese conglomerate. It differs from a keiretsu in having a bank as its dominant member.
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Cite this article
"zaibatsu." A Dictionary of Business and Management. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. 11 Feb. 2012 <http://www.encyclopedia.com>. "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of Business and Management. 2006. Encyclopedia.com. (February 11, 2012). http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O18-zaibatsu.html "zaibatsu." A Dictionary of Business and Management. 2006. Retrieved February 11, 2012 from Encyclopedia.com: http://www.encyclopedia.com/doc/1O18-zaibatsu.html |
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