Keiretsu
(business association)

The keiretsu of Japan arose out of the prewar zaibatsu but differed from the zaibatsu in essential ways. The zaibatsu were family-owned conglomerate businesses that were promoted by the Meiji government of Japan. When the government ran out of funds to carry out major projects for the development of Japan the government commissioned private businesses, often one which had business dealings with the court, to carry out those projects. The businesses received in return monopolies and special privileges from the government.

The zaibatsu were strong supporters of the militaristic government that gained control of Japan. The Allied Occupation broke up the zaibatsu to punish their leadership but also the Occupation wanted to promote democracy and saw the zaibatsu as anti-democratic concentrations of power. Initially firms such as Matsui were prohibited from operating. However the Cold War dictated the necessity of Japan having a strong, vigorish economy. The zaibatsu companies were allowed to re-form and utilize their old names. For middle management in those companies the process was beneficial; they moved up in the management heirarchy.

The general structure of the keiretsu is an association of companies formed around a bank. They cooperate with each other and own shares of each others stock.

The Big Six Horizontal Keiretsu

• Mitsui Group

• Mitsubishi Group

• Sumitomo Group

• Fuyo Group

• Sanwa Group

• DKB Group

The Leading Vertical Keiretsu

The Automobile Industry Toyota Group Nissan Group Honda Group Daihatsu Motors Isuzu

Electronics Hitachi Toshiba Sanyo Matsushita Sony

The One Set Policy of the Keiretsu

Industry	Mitsui	Mitsubishi	Sumitomo	Fuyo	Sanwa	DKB
Banking	Sakura Bank	Bank of Tokyo- Mitsubishi Bank	Sumitomo Bank	Fuji Bank	Sanwa Bank	Dai-ichi Kangyo Bank
Trust Banking	Mitsui Trust & Banking	Mitsubishi Trust & Banking	Sumitomo Trust & Banking	Yasuda Trust & Banking	Toyo Trust & Banking
Life Insurance	Mitsui Mutual Life	Meiji Mutual Life	Sumitomo Mutual Life	Yasuda Mutual Life		Fukoku Mutual Life Asahi Mutual Life
Marine & Fire Insurance	Mitsui Marine & Fire	Tokio Marine & Fire	Sumitomo Marine & Fire	Yasuda Marine & Fire		Nissan Marine & Fire Taisei Marine & Fire
Trading Company	Mitsui Bussan	Mitsubishi Shoji	Sumitomo Corporation	Marubeni	Nissho Iwai	Itochu
Steel	Japan Steel Works	Mitsubishi Steel Manufacturing	Sumitomo Metal Industries		Nakayama Steel Works Nisshin Steel	Kawasaki Steel Kobe Steel
Chemicals	Mitsui Toatsu Chemical	Mitsubishi Gas Chemicals	Sumitomo Chemical	Kureha Chemical Industries	Sekisui Chemical	Asahi Chemical Industries

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