By Leyra Espino-Nardi
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Abstract
Zaibatsu dominated Japan’s economy during the 19th and early 20th centuries, allowing for Japan’s rapid industrialization and advancement as an international power. Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda, the four largest, controlled more than sixty percent of the Japanese market until 1945. However, during the U.S. Occupation of Japan after the Second World War, the zaibatsu were forcibly dissolved. Free market antitrust legislation passed to create more competition throughout Japan and reduce the economic domination of the Big Four zaibatsu (Sumitomo, Mitsui, Mitsubishi, and Yasuda) on the rest of the Japanese economy. This change was met with anger from zaibatsu and government leaders alike, who warned that Japan’s economy would fail if these plans came to fruition. However, today, Japan’s economy remains thriving. Was zaibatsu dissolution and antitrust legislation successful to both modernize Japan’s economy and permanently remove conglomerates from power? In this paper, I argue that while Japan’s economy was modernized to great success, the success of antitrust legislation should be under question.
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