Zaibatsu
Terminology. The term "zaibatsu" was coined in 19th century Japan from the Sino-Japanese roots "zai" ("wealth", from Middle Chinese "dzoi") and "batsu" ("clique", "group", from Middle Chinese "bjot"). Although "zaibatsu" themselves existed from the 19th century, the term was not in common use until after World War I. By definition, the "zaibatsu" were large family-controlled vertical monopolies consisting of a holding company 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, and held great influence over Japanese national and foreign policies. The "Rikken Seiyūkai" political party was regarded as an extension of the Mitsui group, which also had very strong connections with the Imperial Japanese Army. Likewise, the "Rikken Minseitō" was connected to the Mitsubishi group, as was the Imperial Japanese Navy. By the start of World War II, the Big Four "zaibatsu" (Mitsubishi, Sumitomo, Yasuda and Mitsui) alone had direct control over more than 30% of Japan's mining, chemical, and metals industries and almost 50% control of the machinery  and equipment market, a significant part of the foreign commercial merchant fleet and 70% of the commercial stock exchange. 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, the "zaibatsu" were prospering through currency speculation, maintenance of low labour costs and on military procurement. Matters came to a head in the League of Blood Incident of March 1932, with the assassination of the managing director of Mitsui, after which the "zaibatsu" attempted to improve on 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 since Japanese industrialization accelerated during the Meiji Era. They held great influence over Japanese national and foreign policies which only increased following the Japanese victory over Russia in the Russo-Japanese War of 1904–1905 and Japan's victories over Germany during World War I. 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" in 1867, Western countries already had very dominant and internationally significant companies. Standard Oil, Carnegie Steel Company, AT&T, General Electric, Western Union, Friedrich Krupp AG, Thyssen AG, Robert Bosch GmbH, Lloyd's of London, Reckitt and Sons, East India Company, and British Petroleum were very dominant and were the major players in international trade. The British Empire, under the leadership of the Baring family, the Rothschild family and the Guinness family, as well as Imperial Germany 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 zaibatsus emerged. Big Four. The of, in chronological order of founding, Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda were the most significant "zaibatsu" groups. Two of them, Sumitomo and Mitsui, had roots in the Edo period while Mitsubishi and Yasuda traced their origins to the Meiji Restoration. 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/or the award of lucrative military contracts. Some more famous second-tier "zaibatsu" included the Okura, Furukawa, and Nakajima groups, among several others. 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. 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, which nationalized a significant portion of their production capability during World War II. Remaining assets were also highly damaged by the destruction during the war. Under the Allied occupation after the surrender of Japan, a partially successful attempt was made to dissolve the "zaibatsu". Many of the economic  advisors accompanying the SCAP 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, 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, Nomura, and Okura. In addition, Yasuda dissolved itself in 1946. The controlling families' assets were seized, holding 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 in Asia. "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). 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 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", could be interpreted as being suggestive of this difference. List of "zaibatsu". The Big Four Second-tier "zaibatsu" Bankrupt "zaibatsu" 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 and/or have connections to the yakuza. Examples include the Mishima Zaibatsu, which is prominently featured in the "Tekken" series, the ""Zaibatsu"" criminal group in "Grand Theft Auto 2", and various writings of pioneer cyberpunk 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 of the four (fictional) biggest corporations in Japan.