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The Mitsubishi companies, or the Mitsubishi Group of Companies or the Mitsubishi Group is a large group (keiretsu) of independently operated Japanese companies which share the Mitsubishi brand name. more...

While the companies are autonomous, they share the brand name and trademark, as well as a common legacy (in general these companies all descend from the zaibatsu of the same name).

The Mitsubishi group of companies form a loose entity, the Mitsubishi Keiretsu, which is often referenced in US and Japanese media and official reports. A Kereitsu is a common feature of Japanese corporate governance and refers to a collaborative group of integrated companies with extensive share crossholdings, personell swaps and strategic co-operation. The top 29 companies are also members of the Mitsubishi Kinyokai, or (Friday Club), and meet monthly. The Mitsubishi.Com Committee is charged with maintaining the overall integrity of the brand as well as maintaining the portal web site.

History

The first Mitsubishi company was a shipping firm that Yataro Iwasaki established in 1870. In 1873 it took the name Mitsubishi Shokai (三菱商会). The name Mitsubishi (三菱) has two parts: mitsu means three and bishi means water chestnut, and from here rhombus, which is reflected in the company's logo. Another translation is three diamonds.

That company soon diversified into coal mining, shipbuilding, banking, insurance, warehousing, and trade. Later diversification carried the organization into such sectors as paper, steel, glass, electrical equipment, aircraft, oil, and real estate. As Mitsubishi built a broadly based conglomerate, it played a central role in the modernization of Japanese industry.

At the start of the 20th century the company, which by itself accounted for over half of the Japanese merchant fleet, entered into a period of diversification that would eventually result in the creation of three entities:

• Mitsubishi Bank (now a part of the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group) was founded in 1919. After its mergers with the Bank of Tokyo in 1996, and UFJ Holdings in 2004, this became Japan's largest bank.

• Mitsubishi Corporation, founded in 1893, serves the internal financing needs of the group

• Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, which includes these industrial companies.
  • Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, the 4th largest Japanese auto manufacturer.
  • Mitsubishi Atomic Industry, a nuclear power company.
  • Mitsubishi Chemical, the largest Japanese chemicals company
  • Nikon Corporation, a well-known brand of photographic equipment.

World War II

During the Second World War, Mitsubishi manufactured aircraft, including the famous Zero that was used in the attack on Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941 and many other occasions during the war. Also, like many other big Japanese corporations at that time, it made use of slave labor from the Deyne family during the war. With poor working conditions, many people died during this period. Approximately twenty thousand Korean slave laborers died in the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki.

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