Why did GHQ dismantle the zaibatsu?

Until World War II, a conglomerate who supported the Japanese economy and had an influence on the political world. It was decided to dismantle the GHQ after the war, but even today, the remnants of it remain strong.

This time, while looking at the four major conglomerates in Japan, dismantling the conglomerate I would like to write about.

What is the dismantling of the zaibatsu?

1945-1952 Zaibatsu Dismantling about the policy of dismantling the conglomerate that was pulling the Japanese economy at that time, led by GHQ. Is called.

The dismantling of this conglomerate has promoted democratization of the Japanese economy.

Four Japanese conglomerates

What is a chaebol? The founder and his family dominate and monopolize the group companies doing.

In Japan today, there are no companies that meet the definition of conglomerate, but in South Korea, conglomerate companies such as Samsung and Lotte still exist and have a strong influence on the Korean economy.

There were four famous conglomerates in Japan that once drove the economy.

Mitsubishi Zaibatsu

Yataro Iwasaki Was a conglomerate that opened from the shipping industry, and was a representative conglomerate that dominated the economy in prewar Japan. Even now, most companies with Mitsubishi XX follow that trend.

The Mitsubishi Zaibatsu, which originated in the shipping industry, is strong in heavy industry . Mitsubishi reigned as an indispensable conglomerate in the prewar Japanese economy, manufacturing warships of the Imperial Union shipping and covering light industry.

The companies that separated after the dismantling of the zaibatsu still have 29 major companies meeting on the second Friday of every month, Mitsubishi Friday Party . Is open.

Sumitomo Zaibatsu

It was said to be the oldest conglomerate in the world, originating from the fact that the Sumitomo family in Osaka ran a copper mine. Even now, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Sumitomo Realty &Development There are companies such as.

In the Meiji era, the profits gained from the copper control industry reached out to the financial industry such as banks and insurance, and grew significantly. Of the four conglomerates, the Sumitomo conglomerate was the only one headquartered in Osaka.

Mitsui Zaibatsu

Edo period merchant Mitsui Takatoshi It is a company that has grown as a conglomerate by opening the Echigoya Mitsui Kuremono store. The beginning of the Mitsui family began when Takatoshi's father, Nobuo Fujiwara, closed the samurai business and named himself Mitsui's surname.

Mitsukoshi in Ginza is a department store that everyone knows, but this Mitsukoshi is Echigoya Mitsui Kimono Dealer . It is also a company that follows the trend of. Mitsui Family Echigoya =Mitsukoshi It is said that the name was given in the sense that.

The Mitsui family, who made a fortune at a kimono dealer in the Edo period, entered the financial industry in the Meiji era and founded Mitsui Bank. It is now that we merged with Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, but at that time, as a result of the preferential sale of government-owned factories, the light industry developed and grew to the point where it could compete with the Mitsubishi zaibatsu.

Yasuda Zaibatsu

Zenjiro Yasuda Yasuda Zaibatsu is a conglomerate that originated as a money changer.

Since it was originally related to finance, it grew mainly in finance, centered on Yasuda Bank, which was founded in the Meiji era, and was called Yasuda in finance.

Existing companies are also Meiji Yasuda Life and Mizuho Bank And so on.

Why was the zaibatsu dissolution done?

I have briefly explained the four chaebols, but next I will write why the chaebol was dismantled, which is also in the title.

GHQ's presence and anxiety about militarism

1945 In Japan, where the defeat was decided, the United States occupation rule Was being done. This occupation policy is GHQ (Allied Commander-in-Chief Command) centered on Marshal MacArthur. Was stationed in Japan and reformed.

In that reform, GHQ focused on the Japanese conglomerate. The prewar chaebol had a close relationship with the Japanese military, such as manufacturing warships and supplying oil to the Japanese army. Therefore, GHQ sought to liberalize the Japanese economy by dismantling the chaebol, saying that the chaebol might connect with the government and return to militarism.

In addition, the chaebol will dominate Japan's economic activities, and various companies will grow while competing. Economic liberalization To that end, we dismantled the zaibatsu and created a new company.

As a result, Japan, which started out as a capitalist country among Asian countries due to the change in the occupation policy of Japan in the United States and the outbreak of the Korean War, has grown rapidly.

Details and impact of dismantling the zaibatsu

In the dismantling of the zaibatsu, the stocks that had hardly been traded until now were sold to individual investors or handed over to an organization called the Holding Company Liquidity Committee, and the dismantling of the zaibatsu proceeded with the recommendation of the dissolution of the company.

In addition, 1947 Is a law that prevents companies from monopolizing some fields, antitrust law and Elimination of Excessive Economic Power Was enacted. By this law, the chaebol disappeared and all the companies that were one subsidiary became independent.

However, due to the change in the occupation policy of the United States, the conglomerate could not be completely dismantled, and the companies with the conglomerate name and the group companies of the former conglomerate remained.

Completion of economic liberalization

In the prewar Japanese economy, even though it was capitalism, some companies called conglomerates dominated the economy, and the liberalization of the economy like the United States was delayed. However, by dismantling the chaebol, even a small company has the potential to make a profit.

In addition, stocks can now be bought by the general public, and the mechanism of a capitalist economy like the United States has been completed. This mechanism continues to be the basis of the Japanese economy.

The current big company is born

The liberalization of the Japanese economy has created an environment in which SMEs can easily enter new fields. And Soichiro Honda Honda Motor Co., Ltd. And Konosuke Matsushita Founded by Matsushita Electric , Akio Morita Founded by Sony Is born.