MITSUBISHI GROUP

loose consortium of independent Japanese companies that were created out of the giant, family-owned Mitsubishi business combine, or zaibatsu, which was broken up after World War II. The first of the Mitsubishi companies was a trading and shipping concern, Mitsubishi Commercial Company (Mitsubishi Shokai), formed in 1873 by Iwasaki Yataro out of a government-operated shipping company he had purchased in 1871. In its effort to promote Japanese commerce and industry, the government gave Iwasaki considerable financial assistance for several years, and the company grew to be Japan's largest shipping firm. At the same time, Iwasaki began to diversify the company, first into mining and then finance, warehousing, shipbuilding, and real estate; banking was soon added. In 1893 these interests were organized into a family-owned holding company, Mitsubishi, Ltd. (Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha). During and after World War I, several subsidiaries were created out of Mitsubishi, Ltd., which in addition to the earlier interests included iron and steel, insurance, oil refining, aircraft production, and chemicals. By the 1930s Mitsubishi was the second largest zaibatsu in the country. Mitsubishi was also one of the major military contractors during the 1930s and '40s; it built many of Japan's warships, but probably its best-known product was the Zero fighter airplane. Because of its war production, Mitsubishi grew to enormous size, controlling some 200 companies by the end of World War II. After Japan's defeat the Mitsubishi zaibatsu was broken up by the U.S. occupation authorities. Mitsubishi, Ltd., was dissolved, and the stock of the former subsidiary firms was sold to the public. At the end of the occupation in 1952, the independent Mitsubishi companies began to reassociate. The new grouping that emerged was significantly different from the old zaibatsu in that there was no central, family-controlled holding company; instead, it was characterized by informal policy coordination among the various company presidents and by a degree of financial interdependency among the corporations. The Mitsubishi group consists of more than a dozen independent companies. The major firms of the group are all large multinational corporations that are based in Tokyo and have offices and subsidiaries overseas; some of these firms are engaged in joint ventures with foreign companies. Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. (Mitsubishi Jukogyo KK) is one of the largest manufacturers of heavy machinery in Japan. The company acquired its present name in 1934 and became one of the major subsidiaries of the Mitsubishi zaibatsu. It was an important munitions maker during World War II. After the war the company was divided into three firms by the U.S. occupation authorities, but these were reunited in 1964. The company manufactures such products as thermal and nuclear power plants, machine tools, aircraft, construction and agricultural equipment, and rolling stock. It also builds and maintains ships and constructs factories. In 1970 the automotive division of the company was split off to form Mitsubishi Motors Corporation. The Mitsubishi Bank Ltd. (Mitsubishi Ginko) was at first part of the financial arm of the Mitsubishi combine, but it became independent of the parent firm under its present name in 1919; between 1948 and 1953 it was called the Chiyoda Bank. In 1996 the bank completed a merger with the Bank of Tokyo. (See Tokyo-Mitsubishi, Bank of.) Mitsubishi Kasei Corporation (formerly Mitsubishi Chemical Industries Limited; Mitsubishi Kasei Kogyo KK) was established in 1934 as Japan Tar Industries and emerged in its present form in 1950. Originally a manufacturer of tar products, coke, fertilizers, and dyestuffs, the company added the production of petrochemicals in the 1960s and has since diversified into such products as pharmaceuticals and medical equipment, pesticides, analytical instruments, and electronics materials. The Mitsubishi Corporation (Mitsubishi Shoji KK), one of Japan's largest trading companies, grew out of the original shipping and trading firm. The company was split into numerous small firms by the occupation authorities, but these firms reunited in the mid-1950s; it took its present name in 1971. The company acts primarily as an agent for other companies, financing trading and other business ventures, handling orders and arranging shipping for thousands of types of goods and commodities, and maintaining a worldwide telecommunications network to monitor its own activities. The Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Mitsubishi Denki KK) was established in 1921 and acquired its present name in 1963. At first the company was primarily a manufacturer of such heavy equipment as generators, transformers, railroad equipment, and elevators, but it began producing more consumer goods (such as refrigerators and television sets) after World War II. The company also started making a wide variety of electronic equipment, including semiconductors and computers, and has added such diverse products as videocassette recorders and telecommunications equipment. Mitsubishi Trust & Banking Corporation (Mitsubishi Shintaku Ginko KK) is one of the leading trust banks in Japan. Known as the Asahi Trust Bank for the period during which Japan was occupied, it resumed its former name after 1952. Reunited with the other members of the Mitsubishi group, the trust became a major multiservice financial institution, fully enmeshed in the combine's domestic business. Other members of the combine include Mitsubishi Oil Company, Ltd., one of Japan's leading oil importers and refiners; Mitsubishi Materials Corporation, which makes cement and other building materials, imports oil and coal, and engages in the overseas mining of gold, silver, and copper; and Mitsubishi Rayon Company, Ltd., which produces plastics and resins, acrylic fibres, polyester filaments, and acetate fibres.