Mitsui group

The Mitsui family traces its history to 1100. The first few centuries it was a kind of samurai warriors. In the middle of the 17th century, however, the role of the samurai changed, and Mitsui Sokubei, the head of the family, became a honin, that is, a merchant, making sake . His son (1622–1694) expanded the family business to include grocery trading, as well as a pawnshop and currency exchange (the latter developed into a bank). The centers of Mitsui's activities were Kyoto , Edo (later renamed Tokyo ) and Osaka . In the 1860s, the company's financial situation worsened, and for the first time a non-family man, Minomura Ridzaemon, who, thanks to government connections, managed to get Mitsui out of the crisis, was invited as a manager. After the restoration of the power of Emperor Mutsuhito , Mitsui actually became a government bank, also being one of the four largest zaibatsu in the country, along with Mitsubishi , Sumitomo and Yasuda . At the insistence of the Minomura in 1873, the headquarters of Mitsui was moved from Kyoto to Tokyo ^[1] .

In 1876, Mitsui Bussan Kaisha (Mitsui Trading Company) was founded in Tokyo. It was headed by the Minomur, but the very next year he died and took his place (1848-1938). The company began exporting coal to China, for which a representative office was opened in Shanghai , the first foreign outpost of Mitsui. In 1877, Mitsui Bussan carried out military supplies to government forces during the Satsum uprising , earned on this 200 thousand yen went to the opening of representative offices in Hong Kong (1878) and New York (1879). In 1882, Mitsui Bussan began supplying textile equipment for the Osaka Textile Company, mainly produced by the British company Platt & Company; in 1886, Mitsui became its exclusive representative in Japan. By 1888, imports of this equipment reached 270 thousand yen. The next area of ​​activity of Mitsui Bussan was the import of cotton, from 1887 Chinese from Shanghai, from 1892 cheaper and better quality Indian from Bombay, since 1900 also American through a representative office in New York. By the end of the 19th century, Mitsui Bussan controlled a third of cotton imports to Japan. The most serious problem of Mitsui Bussan in these decades was its dependence on the monopolist in the shipping industry, Mitsubishi. Mitsui has repeatedly attempted to establish its own shipping company, but to no avail; only at the beginning of the 20th century did the company have its own transport division (in 1903), and in 1917 the shipbuilding company Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding was founded ^[1] .

Thanks to international treaties signed by Japan after the end of World War I , Japan’s influence in Asia has grown significantly. Mitsui took an active part in the development of industrial infrastructure in the Japanese colonies - Taiwan , Korea and Manchuria . In the 1920s, the company was headed by Takuma Dan, under his leadership, the number of Mitsui subsidiaries has quadrupled. At the same time, Mitsui became the target of terrorist attacks by “young officers” as Japan’s largest zaibatsu, in particular, Takuma Dan was killed in 1932. He was replaced by Seihin Ikeda, most of the subsidiaries were converted into public ones as concessions, in 1933 a fund for helping the poor was set up for 30 million yen, and after the “ February 26 Incident ” (riot of right-wing officers) in 1936, the Mitsui family announced that it will cease to participate in the management of Mitsui Bussan ^[1] .

Mitsui Bussan, like other zaibatsu, participated in the militarized industrialization of Japan, especially after the occupation of China in 1937 . Toyota Motor Corporation and Showa Aircraft Industry Company were founded this year. Mitsui Bussan became the largest conglomerate in the world, with 2.8 million employees. During World War II, Mitsui Bussan was present in all territories occupied by Japan ^[1] .

At the end of World War II, most Mitsui enterprises were destroyed by bombing. The American occupation authorities decided to eliminate zaibatsu, Mitsui Bussan was divided into 180 separate companies and none of them had the right to use the pre-war logo. The largest of these companies were Nitto Warehousing Company, Daiichi Bussan, Nippon Machinery Trading, Tokyo Food Products and others. Mitsui Bank, which during the war was merged with Daiichi and Daijugo Banks under the name Teikoku Bank, was divided into two banks, Mitsui and Daiichi. Mitsui Mining, a mining company, has been reorganized and renamed Mitsui Metal Mining. Nettai Sangyo and Mitsui Wood Vessels were liquidated, and Mitsui Lumber was merged with the Nitto Warehousing Company. Mitsui-affiliated companies such as Tokyo Shibaura Electric (subsequently Toshiba ) and Toyota have become completely independent. However, antitrust laws prohibiting the restoration of zaibatsu were relaxed in the 1950s, Nitto Warehousing and Daiichi began to absorb the former constituents of the conglomerate, and in 1958 a new Mitsui Bussan appeared, in 1960 it was registered as a shoshoe (trading company) ^{[1 ]} .

In 1965, Mitsui bought the Kinoshita Sansho steel company and merged it with its Japan Steel Works, Ltd., founded in 1907. Iron ore for steelmaking came mainly from western Australia, where Mitsui formed several joint ventures. Another joint venture, Alumax, was formed in 1973 with the company AMAX, it was engaged in the production of aluminum ^[1] .

Mitsui entered the petrochemical industry in 1958 with the founding of Mitsui Koatsu. In 1973, construction began on the Iran-Japan petrochemical complex Bender Khomeini , a joint venture between Mitsui and the Iranian national petrochemical company. The complex worth $ 3 billion was supposed to be the largest in the Middle East. By 1973, it was 85% ready, but with the start of the Iranian revolution, work was suspended, in addition, a billion dollars was already spent on construction. With financial assistance from the Japanese government in the amount of $ 100 million, construction was resumed, but was again interrupted in the early 1980s in connection with the Iran-Iraq war . The complex was one of the main targets of the bombing, so it was badly damaged. Finally, in 1989, Mitsui reached an agreement with the Iranian government, under which it withdrew from this project, paying compensation in the amount of $ 900 million, also provided Iran with a long-term loan of $ 500 million for the purchase of oil production equipment and bought Iranian oil for $ 300 million. The first phase of the complex was opened in 1990, the second in 1994 and the third in 1996 ^[1] .

Mitsui did not disregard the sphere of high technology. In 1984, the company formed a joint venture to produce computers with California-based Kaypro Corporation. By the late 1980s, Mitsui was involved in satellite launches, the creation of a fiber optic communications network in Tokyo, the import of high-tech medical equipment to Japan, and the development of office software. The company's interests were also in the field of biotechnology, in particular, Mitsui scientists have developed new varieties of hybrid rice ^[1] .

In 1990, the financial basis of the Mitsui Group, Mitsui Bank , merged with Taiyo Kobe Bank founded in 1973 in Kobe called Sakura Bank . Sakura Bank, in turn, merged with The Sumitomo Bank in 2001 to form Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation , then the world's third largest financial conglomerate ^[2] .

Nikkei 225 Index Group Members

• Mitsui & Co. (Mitsui Bussan) - the main company of the group, founded in 1947, works in various industries; 44 thousand employees; headquarters in Tokyo; 462 subsidiaries and affiliated companies ^[3] .
• Mitsui Chemicals - founded in 1997 (the main predecessor - founded in 1955 by Mitsui Petrochemical Industries, Ltd.) ^[4] ; engaged in the production of plastics; main areas: medical supplies (ophthalmic lenses, dentures, synthetic fibers), products for the food industry (packaging materials and agricultural chemistry), products for the automotive industry (resins and plastics), other plastics and chemical compounds for industry; 13 thousand employees, 145 subsidiaries; headquartered in Tokyo, regional offices in the USA, Germany, India, China, Singapore and Brazil ^[5] .
• Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding - Mitsui has been engaged in shipbuilding since 1917, since 1937 shipyards have become a separate company of Tama Shipyard as part of the group, since 1976 this company is called Mitsui Engineering & Shipbuilding; headquarters located in Tokyo; 13 thousand employees, the turnover in 2015 amounted to ¥ 800 billion ($ 6.7 billion) ^[6] .
• Mitsui Fudosan - a company engaged in the construction and sale of real estate; established in 1941 on the basis of the construction division of the Mitsui Company; headquartered in Tokyo, 1,300 employees, also works in the USA, China, Great Britain, Taiwan, Singapore and Hong Kong; turnover in 2015 amounted to ¥ 1.57 trillion ($ 13 billion) ^[7] .
• Mitsui Mining & Smelting is an industrial company engaged in the extraction and processing of mineral raw materials, mainly non-ferrous metals. It was founded in 1950. Turnover in 2016 amounted to ¥ 450.5 billion ($ 4 billion).
• Mitsui OSK Lines , one of Japan's largest shipping companies, was formed in 1964 as a result of the merger of OSK Line and Mitsui Steamship Co., Ltd. (shipping division of Mitsui Bussan, which became an independent company in 1942). Turnover in 2016 was ¥ 1.712 trillion ($ 15.2 billion), 10,500 employees, headquartered in Tokyo.
• Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance is one of the largest insurance companies in Japan, dealing with all types of insurance except life insurance.
• Mitsui Life Insurance Co.
• Mitsui-soko holdings
• Nihon unisys
• JA Mitsui Leasing
• Isetan mitsukoshi holdings
• Denka
• Oji Paper is the third largest pulp and paper company in the world; founded in 1873 and in subsequent years (until 1945) received funding from Mitsui & Co., in fact becoming part of zaibatsu; turnover in 2015 amounted to ¥ 1.434 trillion ($ 12 billion); 33 thousand employees.
• Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is one of the largest financial conglomerates in the world.
• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings
• Sumitomo Mitsui Construction
• Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation is a subsidiary of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group.
• Shin Nippon Air Technologies
• Sapporo Brewery - Brewing Company
• Sanki engineering
• Aim Services Co., Ltd
• Toray industries
• Toyo engineering corporation
• Toshiba - Electronics and Power Station Operator
• Japan Steel Works - steel company

• Sony is an electronics manufacturer
• Ito-yokado
• Sagami railway
• Tokyo Broadcasting System
• Kanebo ( Kao Corporation )
• Oriental land
• Toyota Group - the largest car manufacturer in the world
• Komatsu limited
• Vale (Brazilian company) - a supplier of iron ore and other minerals
• Rio Tinto Group - a supplier of iron ore and other minerals
• BHP Billiton - a supplier of iron ore and other minerals
• Yamaha - The World's Largest Musical Instrument Manufacturer
• Yanmar
• Sims Metal Management - owns 18% of the shares and has a representative on the board.
• Columbia asia
• IHH Healthcare Berhad - a healthcare company in Malaysia; Mitsui Group owns a 20.5% stake and has a representative on the board.