Editing Keiretsu (section)

==Types==
The two types of ''keiretsu'', '''horizontal'''  and '''vertical''', can be further categorized as:
* {{nihongo|''Kigyō shūdan''|企業集団|"horizontally diversified business groups"}}
* {{nihongo|''Seisan keiretsu''|生産系列|"vertical manufacturing networks"|lead=}}
* {{nihongo|''Ryūtsū keiretsu''|流通系列|"vertical distribution networks"}}

===Horizontal ''keiretsu''===
The primary aspect of a horizontal'' keiretsu'' (also known as financial ''keiretsu'') is that it is set up around a Japanese bank through [[cross shareholding|cross-shareholding]] relationships with other companies. The bank assists these companies with a range of financial services. The leading horizontal Japanese ''keiretsu'', also referred to as the  "Big Six", include: [[Fuyo Group|Fuyo]], [[Sanwa Group|Sanwa]], [[Sumitomo Group|Sumitomo]], [[Mitsubishi]], [[Mitsui]], and [[DKB Group]]. Horizontal ''keiretsu'' may also have vertical relationships, called branches.

Horizontal ''keiretsu'' peaked around 1988, when over half of the value in the Japanese stock market consisted of cross-shareholdings. Since then, banks have gradually reduced their cross-shareholdings. The Japanese corporate governance code, effective from June 2015, requires listed companies to disclose a rationale for their cross-shareholdings. Partly as a result of this requirement, the four Japanese "megabanks" descended from the six major ''keiretsu'' banks (namely [[Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group]], [[Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group]], [[Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings|Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group]] and [[Mizuho Financial Group]]) have indicated plans to further reduce their balance of cross-shareholding investments.<ref>{{cite news|last1=Fukase|first1=Atsuko|title=Mitsubishi UFJ Joins Crusade on Cross-Shareholding|url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/mitsubishi-ufj-joins-crusade-on-cross-shareholding-1438345700?tesla=y|access-date=7 August 2015|work=Wall Street Journal|date=31 July 2015}}</ref>

Membership in horizontal ''keiretsu'' is often loose and often not something considered in day-to-day decision making by its members.<ref>{{cite journal |last1=Hoshi |first1=Takeo |title=Erratum: The Fable of the Keiretsu: Urban Legends of the Japanese Economy |journal=Social Science Japan Journal |date=2009 |volume=12 |issue=1 |pages=189–192 |doi=10.1093/ssjj/jyp013 |jstor=30209839 |url=http://www.jstor.org/stable/30209839 |access-date=24 April 2024}}</ref>

===Vertical ''keiretsu''===
Vertical ''keiretsu'' (also known as industrial or distribution'' keiretsu'') are used to link suppliers, manufacturers, and distributors of one industry. Banks have less influence on vertical ''keiretsu''. Examples of this type include [[Toyota]], [[Toshiba]], and [[Nissan]].<ref name=":0">{{Cite book|title=Manufacturing: Design, Production, Automation, and Integration|url=https://archive.org/details/manufacturingdes00benh|url-access=limited|last=Benhabib|first=Beno|date=2003|publisher=Marcel Dekker, Inc.|isbn=0824742737|location=New York|pages=[https://archive.org/details/manufacturingdes00benh/page/n550 19]}}</ref> One or more sub-companies, arranged in tiers of importance, are created to benefit the parent company. Major suppliers form the second tier beneath the parent, and smaller manufacturing companies make up the third and fourth tiers. Those at the highest levels are most profitable, and most insulated from fluctuations in the market.<ref>{{Cite web|title=What is Keiretsu?|date=6 April 2019 |url=https://www.tech-faq.com/keiretsu.html|access-date=2022-02-03|language=en-US}}</ref>

Some vertical ''keiretsu'' may belong to one or another horizontal ''keiretsu''.<ref name=":0" /> Some vertical ''keiretsu'' are [[family business]]es, such as the [[Hitotsubashi Group|Hitotsubashi/Shogakukan]], [[Kodansha|Otowa/Kodansha]] and [[APA Group (Japan)|APA]] groups. Studies have found these vertical ''keiretsus,'' particularly those that belong to the same horizontal ''keiretsu'', are more likely to form alliances than the other types or even those companies where one or two have ''keiretsu'' affiliations.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Japan's Network Economy: Structure, Persistence, and Change|url=https://archive.org/details/japansnetworkeco00linc|url-access=limited|last1=Lincoln|first1=James R.|last2=Gerlach|first2=Michael L.|date=2004|publisher=Cambridge University Press|isbn=0521453046|location=Cambridge|pages=[https://archive.org/details/japansnetworkeco00linc/page/n376 362]}}</ref> Vertical ''keiretsu'' is considered an effective and competitive organizational model in the car industry.<ref>{{Cite book|title=Governance in the Business Environment|last1=Aras|first1=Guler|last2=Uddin|first2=Shahzad|date=2011|publisher=Emerald Group Publishing|isbn=9780857248770|location=Bingley, UK|pages=101}}</ref>