Editing Mitsubishi (section)

== History ==
[[File:Iwasaki Yataro Photo Mitsubishi Archives.png|thumb|left|150px|[[Iwasaki Yatarō|Yatarō Iwasaki]], the founder of Mitsubishi]]
The Mitsubishi company was established as a [[shipping]] firm by [[Iwasaki Yatarō]] (1834–1885) in 1870 under the name {{nihongo|"Tsukumo Shokai"|九十九商会}}.<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/en/profile/history/outline/|title=Origin|website=Mitsubishi.com|access-date=29 May 2021|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405214339/https://www.mitsubishi.com/en/profile/history/outline/|url-status=live}}</ref> In 1873, its name was changed to ''Mitsubishi Shokai''; {{nihongo4||{{linktext|三菱}}|Mitsubishi}} consists of two parts: "''mitsu''" (三) meaning "three" (as in the three oak leaves from the [[Mon (emblem)|crest]] of the [[Yamauchi clan|Yamauchi or Tosa family]] that ruled over Yatarō's birthplace and employed him) and "''hishi''" (菱, which becomes "''bishi''" under [[rendaku]]) meaning "[[water caltrop]]", and hence "[[rhombus]]", which is reflected in the company's [[logo]]. It is also translated as "three diamonds".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/en/profile/group/mark/|title=Mitsubishi Mark|website=www.mitsubishi.com|access-date=14 May 2021|archive-date=5 April 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230405213810/https://www.mitsubishi.com/en/profile/group/mark/|url-status=live}}</ref>

Mitsubishi was established in 1870, two years after the [[Meiji Restoration]], with shipping as its core business. Its diversification was mostly into related fields. It entered into coal-mining to gain the coal needed for ships, bought a shipbuilding yard from the government to repair the ships it used, founded an iron mill to supply iron to the shipbuilding yard, started a [[marine insurance]] business to cater for its shipping business, and so forth. Later, the managerial resources and technological capabilities acquired through the operation of shipbuilding were used to expand the business further into the manufacture of aircraft and equipment. The experience of overseas shipping led the firm to enter into a trading business.<ref name="Odagiri & Goto">{{Cite book | last = Odagiri | first = Hiroyuki | title = Technology and Industrial Development in Japan | publisher = Oxford University Press | year = 1996 | isbn = 0-19-828802-6 | page = 76}}</ref>
[[File:Koyata Iwasaki.JPG|left|thumb|190x190px|[[Koyata Iwasaki]], the longest-serving head of the unified Mitsubishi]]
In 1881, the company bought into [[coal mining]] by acquiring the Takashima Mine, followed by [[Hashima Island]] in 1890, using the production to fuel their extensive [[steamship]] fleet. They also diversified into shipbuilding, [[bank]]ing, [[insurance]], warehousing, and trade. Later diversification carried the organization into such sectors as [[paper]], [[steel]], [[glass]], electrical equipment, [[aircraft]], [[Petroleum|oil]], and [[real estate]]. As Mitsubishi built a broadly based [[conglomerate (company)|conglomerate]], it played a central role in the modernization of Japanese industry.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://gearheads.org/the-history-of-mitsubishi-group/|title=The History of Mitsubishi Group|date=19 May 2012|publisher=GearHeads|access-date=25 October 2012|archive-date=2 May 2015|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150502060557/http://gearheads.org/the-history-of-mitsubishi-group/|url-status=dead}}</ref>  In 1894, [[Hisaya Iwasaki]] succeeded his uncle [[Iwasaki Yanosuke|Yanosuke]] as president. During his tenure until 1916, he modernised the Nagasaki Shipyard and developed Marunouchi as a business district.<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |title=Hisaya Iwasaki |url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/en/profile/history/series/hisaya/ |access-date=2024-06-24 |website=www.mitsubishi.com}}</ref>

Hisaya was succeeded by his cousin [[Koyata Iwasaki|Koyata]] in 1916, and during his time as president the group saw a significant expansion. In 1917, he funded the establishment of an optics company and became the majority shareholder, which later became [[Nikon]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=vol.17 新規事業への進出 {{!}} 三菱グループサイト |url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/ja/profile/history/series/koyata/17/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.mitsubishi.com |language=ja}}</ref> During this era, [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]] was at the forefront of Japan's aircraft development.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |date=1973 |page=195 }}</ref> He reorganised the group into a form similar to what it is now, and he spun off each department into a subsidiary. Most of them later went public, as he thought that for the sake of the expansion of business, more core capital was needed.<ref>{{Cite web |title=vol.09 持ち株会社と事業部門の独立 {{!}} 三菱グループサイト |url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/ja/profile/history/series/koyata/09/ |access-date=2024-04-07 |website=www.mitsubishi.com |language=ja}}</ref>

The firm's prime real estate holdings in the [[Marunouchi]] district of Tokyo, acquired in 1890, were spun off in 1937 to form [[Mitsubishi Estate]], now one of the largest real estate development companies in Japan.<ref>{{cite web|title=History|url=http://www.mec.co.jp/e/company/history/index.html|publisher=Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.|access-date=7 September 2015|archive-date=16 November 2012|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121116102217/http://www.mec.co.jp/e/company/history/index.html|url-status=dead}}</ref>

=== World War II ===
During the [[World War II|Second World War]], which was often advertised in government propaganda as a total war, Mitsubishi was a key player in the nation's wartime economy. Educated in [[England]] and having many business friends and partners in the [[Anglosphere]], Koyata was opposed to fighting a war against the Allies. However, he famously stated in his speech on 10 December 1941 that once the country had decided to wage a war with the [[United States]] and the [[British Empire]], each member of the company ought to serve the country in fulfilling its only goal, but the company should not forget what it owed to people in these countries.<ref>{{Cite web |title=vol.19: In the Service of the Country |url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/ja/series/koyata/19/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.mitsubishi.com |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=河合敦 |title=『岩崎小弥太(いわさきこやた)』の意味と定義(全文) - 辞書辞典無料検索JLogos |url=http://www.jlogos.com/d013/14625101.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=『岩崎小弥太(いわさきこやた)』の意味と定義(全文) - 辞書辞典無料検索JLogos |language=ja}}</ref> [[File:Mitsubishi Zero-Yasukuni.jpg|thumb|Mitsubishi A6M "Zero" fighter]]

Arguably, one of the most tangible ways in which Mitsubishi was involved in the war was through its supply of ships, aircraft and other arms by Mitsubishi Heavy Industries. The [[Mitsubishi A6M Zero]] fighter, designed by Dr. [[Jiro Horikoshi]] was the primary fighter of the [[Imperial Japanese Navy|Imperial Navy]].<ref name="life1942110986">{{cite magazine|last1=Wilcox|first1=Richard|title=The Zero|date=9 November 1942|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=JUAEAAAAMBAJ&q=wilcox+mitsubishi+1942&pg=PA86|magazine=Life Magazine|access-date=19 October 2020|archive-date=19 December 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219184617/https://books.google.com/books?id=JUAEAAAAMBAJ&q=wilcox+mitsubishi+1942&pg=PA86#v=snippet&q=wilcox%20mitsubishi%201942&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref><ref>Mersky, Peter B. (Cmdr. USNR). [http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Aces/index.html "Time of the Aces: Marine Pilots in the Solomons, 1942–1944."] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120429011315/http://www.ibiblio.org/hyperwar/USMC/USMC-C-Aces/index.html |date=2012-04-29 }} ''ibiblio.org''. Retrieved: 30 July 2015.</ref><ref name="Hawks">Hawks, Chuck. [http://www.chuckhawks.com/best_fighter_planes.htm "The Best Fighter Planes of World War II"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170809080818/http://www.chuckhawks.com/best_fighter_planes.htm |date=2017-08-09 }}. chuckhawks.com. Retrieved: 30 July 2015.</ref> Production of these equipments made Mitsubishi factories one of the main targets for allies attack, and in one factory the death toll among its workers amounted to 494 in just a week.<ref>{{Cite web |title=vol.20 空襲下で現場を激励 {{!}} 三菱グループサイト |url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/ja/series/koyata/20/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.mitsubishi.com |language=ja}}</ref>  Mitsubishi Mining was involved in the forced labour of Allied prisoners of war and people from Japan's colonies and occupied territories such as Korea and parts of China. The company's Iizuka mine counted 19 deaths of Chinese labourers during the war.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2022-11-24 |title=Chinese Forced Labourers Commemorated at Former Mitsubishi Iizuka Mine |url=https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASQCS7488QCHTGPB001.html?iref=ogimage_rek |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=[[The Asahi Shimbun]] |language=ja}}</ref> In 2015, [[Mitsubishi Materials]] (formerly Mitsubishi Mining) compensated 3,765 Chinese labourers who were conscripted to the company during the war and apologised to ex-American prisoners of war.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Mitsubishi to compensate forced Chinese labourers in WWII - timesofindia-economictimes |url=http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-24/news/64817007_1_mitsubishi-materials-chinese-victims-compensation |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160305114303/http://articles.economictimes.indiatimes.com/2015-07-24/news/64817007_1_mitsubishi-materials-chinese-victims-compensation |archive-date=2016-03-05 |access-date=2018-12-02}}</ref><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-mitsubishimaterials-apology/mitsubishi-materials-apologizes-for-using-u-s-pows-as-slave-labor-idUSKCN0PU02620150720 | title=Mitsubishi Materials apologizes for using U.S. POWs as slave labor | work=Reuters | date=20 July 2015 | access-date=19 July 2015 | archive-date=24 September 2015 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150924221449/http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/07/20/us-usa-mitsubishimaterials-apology-idUSKCN0PU02620150720 | url-status=live }}</ref> Mitsubishi was involved in the [[opium]] trade in China during this period.<ref>{{cite book |last=Hastings |first=Max |author-link=Max Hastings |title=Retribution: The Battle for Japan, 1944–45 |publisher=Vintage |year=2007 |isbn=978-0-3072-7536-3 |location=New York |page=413}}</ref>

=== Post-war era ===

==== Dissolusion and reorganisation of the unified Mitsubishi ====
After the Second World War, under the Allied Occupation's policy to dissolve [[zaibatsu]], the Mitsubishi conglomerate underwent significant restructuring. Until the [[Cold War]] made the [[Eastern Bloc]] more menacing than the possible revival of a strong [[Japan]] and [[Germany]], the occupation forces’ initial aim, just like in Germany, was to weaken the Japanese economy so that the country could never wage war against them.<ref name=":1">{{Cite journal |last=Yoshida |first=Junzo |date=1996 |title=Development of Corporate Systems in the Post War Era: Mitsubishi |url=https://rku.repo.nii.ac.jp/record/5679/files/KJ00005534719.pdf |journal=流通経済大学論集 |volume=30 |issue=3}}</ref> Under this policy, Mitsubishi as a group was dissolved.<ref>{{cite book|editor-last1=Morris-Suzuki|editor-first1=Tessa|title=Japanese Capitalism Since 1945: Critical Perspectives|page=109|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=9a9fV8RQFNsC&pg=PA113|isbn=9780873325516|year=1989|publisher=M.E. Sharpe |access-date=2020-05-09|archive-date=2023-12-19|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20231219184617/https://books.google.com/books?id=9a9fV8RQFNsC&pg=PA113#v=onepage&q&f=false|url-status=live}}</ref> [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]] and [[Mitsubishi Chemical Group|Mitsubishi Chemical]] were split into three separate entities.<ref name=":2">{{Cite web |last=Ltd |first=Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |title=History of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries |url=https://www.mhi.com/jp/finance/mr2018/introduction/history.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=三菱重工 |language=ja}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title=三菱化成工業(株)『三菱化成社史』(1981.06) {{!}} 渋沢社史データベース |url=https://shashi.shibusawa.or.jp/details_basic.php?sid=3670 |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=shashi.shibusawa.or.jp}}</ref> On his deathbed, [[Koyata Iwasaki]] staunchly defended his actions, asserting that he had done his utmost for his country and had nothing to be ashamed of. Despite his resistance, he could not defy the tide of the times.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Chronicle: Koyata Iwasaki |url=https://www.mitsubishi.com/ja/series/koyata/ |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.mitsubishi.com |language=ja}}</ref> His cousin, [[Hisaya Iwasaki]], president of Mitsubishi Partnership Company at the time, expressed his frustration with the situation, noting that the company had been stripped bare, leaving only his ancestral land in Tosa and a mausoleum in Tokyo. [[Kyū-Iwasaki-tei Garden|His main residence in Shitaya]] was requisitioned by the American military, and Hisaya had to temporarily rent rooms in his former house.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Former Iwasaki Residence |url=https://www.shiyu-dousoukai.jp/archives/a_dousousei/a_hito_koto/machi/m0511/ma051116.html |access-date=2024-07-10 |website=www.shiyu-dousoukai.jp}}</ref>

Due to the zaibatsu dissolution, [[Mitsubishi Estate]] was split into two companies, Kanto Real Estate and Yowa Real Estate. Yowa Real Estate owned a significant portion of the land between the [[Tokyo Imperial Palace|Imperial Palace]] and [[Tokyo Station]], including the [[Marunouchi Building]]. In 1952, an incident occurred where two men, Kuniichiro Fujiami and Shomitsu Tajima, who were closely linked to infamous [[yakuza]], attempted to take over Yowa Real Estate by becoming majority shareholders, as the market capitalisation of the company was significantly less than its real estate holdings. They [[greenmail]]ed, and other Mitsubishi companies had to buy the shares from them at an unjustly high price. This incident accelerated Mitsubishi's reintegration.<ref name=":1" /> In 1954, [[Mitsubishi Corporation]] was reformed, and the Mitsubishi Friday Club was established to foster camaraderie and information exchange among the chairpersons and presidents of major Mitsubishi companies. By 1964, [[Mitsubishi Heavy Industries]] also remerged.<ref name=":2" /> The Friday Club symbolised the formation of an equal group of companies, rather than the revival of the pre-war Mitsubishi zaibatsu with Mitsubishi Headquarters at the apex.<ref name=":1" />

==== Contemporary Mitsubishi Group ====
In 1970, Mitsubishi companies established the Mitsubishi Foundation to commemorate the centennial anniversary of the founding of the first Mitsubishi company. The companies also individually maintain charitable foundations. Mitsubishi pavilions have been highlights of expositions in Japan since EXPO'70 in Osaka in the 1970s to 1980s.