The () was an industrial conglomerate, or ''

zaibatsu is a Japanese language, Japanese term referring to industrial and financial vertical integration, vertically integrated business conglomerate (company), conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed control over signifi ...

,'' in the

Japanese Japanese may refer to: * Something from or related to Japan, an island country in East Asia * Japanese language, spoken mainly in Japan * Japanese people, the ethnic group that identifies with Japan through ancestry or culture ** Japanese diaspor ...

-controlled Empire of Manchuria (Manchukuo), established at the instigation of the

Imperial Japanese Army The Imperial Japanese Army (IJA; , ''Dai-Nippon Teikoku Rikugun'', "Army of the Greater Japanese Empire") was the principal ground force of the Empire of Japan from 1871 to 1945. It played a central role in Japan’s rapid modernization during th ...

to further the industrialization of Manchukuo, and in particular, to make it self-sufficient in strategic

heavy industries Heavy industry is an industry that involves one or more characteristics such as large and heavy products; large and heavy equipment and facilities (such as heavy equipment, large machine tools, huge buildings and large-scale infrastructure); o ...

History

Following on the economic success of the

South Manchurian Railway Company The South Manchuria Railway (; ), officially , Mantetsu () or Mantie () for short, was a large of the Empire of Japan whose primary function was the operation of railways on the Dalian– Fengtian (Mukden)–Changchun (called Xinjing from ...

, and its various subsidiaries, such as the

Showa Steel Works The () was a Japanese government-sponsored steel mill that was one of the showpieces of the industrialization program for Manchukuo in the late 1930s. History Shōwa Steel Works began as the ''Anshan Iron & Steel Works'', a subsidiary of the ...

, ideological and economic planners from the

Kwantung Army The Kwantung Army (Japanese language, Japanese: 関東軍, ''Kantō-gun'') was a Armies of the Imperial Japanese Army, general army of the Imperial Japanese Army from 1919 to 1945. The Kwantung Army was formed in 1906 as a security force for th ...

developed a comprehensive plan for the future economic and industrial development of Manchukuo per a

state socialist State socialism is a political and economic ideology within the socialist movement that advocates state ownership of the means of production. This is intended either as a temporary measure, or as a characteristic of socialism in the transition ...

model with a

command economy A planned economy is a type of economic system where investment, production and the allocation of capital goods takes place according to economy-wide economic plans and production plans. A planned economy may use centralized, decentralized, ...

. Prominent Japanese entrepreneur and technocrat,

Yoshisuke Aikawa was a Japanese entrepreneur, businessman, and politician, noteworthy as the founder and first president of the Nissan ''zaibatsu'' (1931–1945), one of Japan's most powerful business conglomerates around the time of the Second World War. Biog ...

, the founder of the

Nissan is a Japanese multinational Automotive industry, automobile manufacturer headquartered in Yokohama, Kanagawa, Japan. The company sells its vehicles under the ''Nissan'' and ''Infiniti'' brands, and formerly the ''Datsun'' brand, with in-house ...

''zaibatsu'' was invited to Manchukuo and asked to establish the Manchukuo Industrial Development Company, a

joint venture A joint venture (JV) is a business entity created by two or more parties, generally characterized by shared ownership, shared returns and risks, and shared governance. Companies typically pursue joint ventures for one of four reasons: to acce ...

owned 50% by Nissan and 50% by the Manchukuo government, which would oversee the central plan. The original plan under Naoki Hoshino and other Army planners envisioned a

syndicalist Syndicalism is a labour movement within society that, through industrial unionism, seeks to unionize workers according to industry and advance their demands through strikes and other forms of direct action, with the eventual goal of gainin ...

economy, with the military allocating monopolies of one firm per industry. From 1932, the Japanese military had created 26 new companies, ranging from automobiles, aircraft, oil refining, shipping, etc. Aikawa countered that this policy was unrealistic given the undeveloped state of Manchukuo's resources and industrial infrastructure, and persuaded the military leaders that there should be a single state-controlled entity to manage all of resource development and heavy industry. Aikawa argued that the

automotive industry The automotive industry comprises a wide range of company, companies and organizations involved in the design, Business development, development, manufacturing, marketing, selling, Maintenance, repairing, and Custom car, modification of motor ve ...

and

aircraft industry An aircraft ( aircraft) is a vehicle that is able to fly by gaining support from the air. It counters the force of gravity by using either static lift or the dynamic lift of an airfoil, or, in a few cases, direct downward thrust from its e ...

both required a large number of subcontractors, few of whom where present in Manchukuo. To develop these strategic industries, would be necessary to develop all related machinery industries simultaneously.Samuels, Rich Nation, Strong Army. pp.102 In October 1937, Aikawa was given his way, and the ''Manshū Jukōgyō Kaihatsu Yoko'' (Manchurian Heavy Industrial Development Corporation) was established under the aegis of

, which also moved its headquarters to Xinjing, Manchukuo. Aikawa was guaranteed loans from the

Industrial Bank of Japan Industrial Bank of Japan, Limited (IBJ), based in Tokyo, Japan, was one of the largest banks in the world during the latter half of the 20th century. It was established in 1902 as a policy institution or "special bank", similarly as Nippon Kan ...

Bank of Japan The is the central bank of Japan.Louis Frédéric, Nussbaum, Louis Frédéric. (2005). "Nihon Ginkō" in The bank is often called for short. It is headquartered in Nihonbashi, Chūō, Tokyo, Chūō, Tokyo. The said bank is a corporate entity ...

using the

natural resources Natural resources are resources that are drawn from nature and used with few modifications. This includes the sources of valued characteristics such as commercial and industrial use, aesthetic value, scientific interest, and cultural value. ...

of Manchukuo as collateral, and was granted exemption from dual taxation.Young, Japan's Total Empire, pp.208 The South Manchurian Railway Company, Showa Steel Company and other major industrial concerns in Manchukuo were tied into the new company through cross-holding of shares. In its initial phases, the new conglomerate was a tremendous success, pulling investment into Manchukuo at a tremendous rate. New industries were created along the transportation routes established by the South Manchurian Railway, and the industrial output of Manchukuo began to outstrip Japan in certain sectors by the end of the first Five Year Plan. However, Aikawa faced numerous difficulties partly due to issues with his politics (which were often at odds with the Kwantung Army leadership), and partly due to interference in the operations of Mangyō by members of the Manchukuo civil government. Aikawa resigned in 1942, and moved back to Japan. He was replaced by Tatsunosuke Takasaki; however, with the growing demands of the military due to

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and the ongoing quagmire for the Japanese military in China, Mangyō faced severe problems in raw materials, labor, and the subordination of its production into military requirements. Mangyō was dissolved with the destruction of Manchukuo by the

Soviet The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...

Red Army The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army, often shortened to the Red Army, was the army and air force of the Russian Soviet Republic and, from 1922, the Soviet Union. The army was established in January 1918 by a decree of the Council of People ...

in the invasion of Manchuria at the end of World War II.

References

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Notes

{{Authority control Companies established in 1937 Companies disestablished in 1945 Companies in Manchukuo Economy of the Empire of Japan Defunct companies of Japan Military history of Japan during World War II Nissan