Multinational Company - Mitsubishi

The group Mitsubishi Group or the Mitsubishi Companies are a japanese conglomerate that forms an entity called Keiretsu Mitsubishi. A keiretsu is a common feature of Japanese corporate governance and refers to a collaborative group of integrated companies with extensive share crossholdings, personnel swaps and strategic co-operation.

All 29 component companies meet monthly and are members of the Kin'yōkai, or “Friday Club”.

The first Mitsubishi company was founded by Yataro Iwasaki in the 1870’s and was a fishing company.

In 1881 the company The company bought into coal mining in 1881 by acquiring the Takashima mine and Hashima Island in 1890, using it to fuel their extensive steamship fleet.

In time the company's activity became various from building boats to bank transactions, insurance and commerce.

Afterwards the variety of activities leaded to the division of the company in sectors such: paper sector, steel, glass, electric equipment, aircraft, petrol sector and real estate properties.

Constructing this conglomerate, Mitsubishi played an important role in the modernization of the Japanese industry.

Three entities were created:

Mitsubishi Bank – 1919;

Mitsubishi Corporation – founded in 1950 – the biggest commercial society of Japan;

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, with the following 3 components:

-Mitsubishi Motors

-Mitsubishi Atomic Industry

-Mitsubishi Chemical

Mitsubishi had a powerful influence over the economical growth of Japan between the 1950‘s and 1960‘s; for example founding companies like Mitsubishi Petrochemical, Mitsubishi Atomic Power Industries, Mitsubishi Liquefied Petroleum Gas, Mitsubishi Petroleum Development, Japan was able to modernize the energetic industry.

The old Mitsubishi organization ended in 1946. The Mitsubishi holding company was dissolved while the trading house fragmented into hundreds of independent enterprises. Most of the Mitsubishi companies abandoned the name and emblem under pressure from the occupation forces.

In 1952, the San Francisco Peace Treaty was concluded and Japan regained a welcome place in the international community.

In 1954, more than 100 companies that had been part of the trading house, Mitsubishi Corporation, merged to reestablish that company. Similarly, the principal components of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries reunited in 1964. Mitsubishi companies that had abandoned that name after the war began using it and the three-diamond mark again.