Zaibatsu
Topic: Paths to Modernisation: Japan, China, Korea · NCERT: Class 11, Ch 7 "Paths to Modernisation"
Meaning
Zaibatsu were huge business groups in Japan, each owned and run by one family. They grew in the Meiji period with state subsidies and tax benefits. They covered many fields at once, such as shipping, mining, banking and trade. They dominated the Japanese economy until after the Second World War. The US-led Occupation then tried to break them up.
Example
Mitsubishi and Sumitomo were zaibatsu. The Meiji government subsidised both of them to build modern ships.
Don't confuse with
- Small workshops: Zaibatsu were giant family combines. Most Meiji manufacturing still took place in tiny units of fewer than five workers.
Related concepts
- Meiji economic modernisation
- Tanaka Shozo
- Ashio mine pollution
- Meiji Constitution
- Fukuzawa Yukichi
- Popular Rights Movement