Yoshisuke Aikawa
Encyclopedia
was a Japan
ese entrepreneur
, businessman, and politician, noteworthy as the founder and first president of the Nissan zaibatsu
between 1931 and 1945.
, Yamaguchi prefecture
. His mother was the niece of Meiji period
genrō
Inoue Kaoru
. He graduated from the engineering department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1903 and went to work for Shibaura Seisakusho, the forerunner of Toshiba
.
Although his pay was very low, Aikawa managed to save enough to make a trip to the United States
, where he studied malleable cast iron
technology. After his return to Japan, with the backing of Inoue Kaoru and other ex-Chōshū politicians in the Diet of Japan
, he established the Tobata Foundry in Kitakyūshū in 1909. The company is now known as Hitachi Kinzoku (Hitachi Metals Company Ltd).
In 1928, Aikawa became president of the Kuhara Mining Company (present day Nippon Mining & Metals Company) taking over from his brother-in-law Fusanosuke Kuhara
and created a holding company
called Nihon Sangyo, or Nissan for short. Kuhara went on to a career in politics, forging ties with future Prime Minister
Giichi Tanaka and other political and military leaders, which Aikawa would later use to his advantage.
In the stock market boom following the 1931 Manchurian Incident, Aikawa used the opportunity to buy majority shareholdings in 132 subsidiary companies of Nissan to create a new zaibatsu
, the Nissan Konzerne. The companies included Nissan Motors
, Isuzu
, NEC Corporation, Nippon Mining Holdings Company
, Nissan Chemicals, Hitachi
, Nichiyu Corporation, Nichirei Corporation, Nissan Marine Insurance
, Nissan Mutual Life Insurance
and others. The group included some of the most technologically advanced companies in Japan at the time.
In 1937, at the invitation of his relative Nobusuke Kishi
, he moved to Manchukuo
and agreed with the Japanese Kwantung Army's vision of a syndicalist economy
and centralized industrial development plan for Manchukuo. He also moved the headquarters of Nissan to Manchukuo, whereit became the core of the Manchurian Industrial Development Company
, a new Manchukuo zaibatsu, partly owned by Nissan and the Manchukuo government.
In his position as president and chairman Aikawa guided all industrial efforts in Manchukuo, implementing two five-year plans during the 1930s, following some the previous economical and industrial lines envisioned Army ideologist Naoki Hoshino
. However, Aikawa differed from Noshino's original conception in that he favored a more monopolistic
approach, arguing that the economic state of Manchukuo was still too primitive to permit free market capitalism
. Aikawa also received bank loans from American steel industrialists to support the Manchukuo economy, which created considerable controversy in the United States
with its policy of Non-recognition
.
However, while his economic views were in line with Imperial Japanese Army
policy, his political views were not. Aikawa was a strong opponent of the Tripartite Alliance, and predicted that the forces of the United Kingdom
and France
would eventually prevail over Nazi Germany
should a general war break out. He supported the Fugu Plan
, a project to settle Jewish refugees
in Manchukuo. In 1942, at the instigation of the Kwantung Army, Aikawa resigned chairman of the Manchurian Industrial Development Company, and moved back to Japan.
After the surrender of Japan
, Aikawa was arrested by the American occupation authorities
and incarcerated in Sugamo Prison
for 20 months as a Class A war crimes suspect. He was freed before his case came to trial, however, during this time, the Nissan zaibatsu was dissolved.
After his release, Aikawa played a key role in post-war economic reconstruction of Japan, and purchased a commercial bank
to organize loans to small companies. He served as president of Teikoku Oil Company and of the Japan Petroleum Exploration Company, and in 1953, was elected to a seat in the House of Councilors of the Diet of Japan. With the help of Nobusuke Kishi
, then prime minister, he achieved his goal in implementing economic-control law and policies as leader of the Chuseiren, a pressure group that became the main federation of small and medium sized companies in the 1960s.
Aikawa died of acute gall bladder inflammation
in 1967. His grave is at the Tama Cemetery outside Tokyo.
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
, businessman, and politician, noteworthy as the founder and first president of the Nissan zaibatsu
Zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
between 1931 and 1945.
Biography
Aikawa was born in what is now part of Yamaguchi cityYamaguchi, Yamaguchi
is the capital city of Yamaguchi Prefecture, Japan.As of February 1, 2010, the city has an estimated population of 198,971 and a population density of 194.44 persons per km²...
, Yamaguchi prefecture
Yamaguchi Prefecture
is a prefecture of Japan in the Chūgoku region on Honshū island. The capital is the city of Yamaguchi, in the center of the prefecture. The largest city, however, is Shimonoseki.- History :...
. His mother was the niece of Meiji period
Meiji period
The , also known as the Meiji era, is a Japanese era which extended from September 1868 through July 1912. This period represents the first half of the Empire of Japan.- Meiji Restoration and the emperor :...
genrō
Genro
was an unofficial designation given to certain retired elder Japanese statesmen, considered the "founding fathers" of modern Japan, who served as informal extraconstitutional advisors to the emperor, during the Meiji, Taishō and early Shōwa periods in Japanese history.The institution of genrō...
Inoue Kaoru
Inoue Kaoru
Count , GCMG was a member of the Meiji oligarchy during the Meiji period Empire of Japan. As one of the senior statesman in Japan during that period, he had a tremendous influence on the selection of the nation's leaders and formation of its policies.-Early years:...
. He graduated from the engineering department of Tokyo Imperial University in 1903 and went to work for Shibaura Seisakusho, the forerunner of Toshiba
Toshiba
is a multinational electronics and electrical equipment corporation headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. It is a diversified manufacturer and marketer of electrical products, spanning information & communications equipment and systems, Internet-based solutions and services, electronic components and...
.
Although his pay was very low, Aikawa managed to save enough to make a trip to the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, where he studied malleable cast iron
Cast iron
Cast iron is derived from pig iron, and while it usually refers to gray iron, it also identifies a large group of ferrous alloys which solidify with a eutectic. The color of a fractured surface can be used to identify an alloy. White cast iron is named after its white surface when fractured, due...
technology. After his return to Japan, with the backing of Inoue Kaoru and other ex-Chōshū politicians in the Diet of Japan
Diet of Japan
The is Japan's bicameral legislature. It is composed of a lower house, called the House of Representatives, and an upper house, called the House of Councillors. Both houses of the Diet are directly elected under a parallel voting system. In addition to passing laws, the Diet is formally...
, he established the Tobata Foundry in Kitakyūshū in 1909. The company is now known as Hitachi Kinzoku (Hitachi Metals Company Ltd).
In 1928, Aikawa became president of the Kuhara Mining Company (present day Nippon Mining & Metals Company) taking over from his brother-in-law Fusanosuke Kuhara
Fusanosuke Kuhara
was a businessman and politician of Japan.He was a syndicalist, zaibatsu member, and mining industrialist, later becoming a right-wing supporter in wartime Japan....
and created a holding company
Holding company
A holding company is a company or firm that owns other companies' outstanding stock. It usually refers to a company which does not produce goods or services itself; rather, its purpose is to own shares of other companies. Holding companies allow the reduction of risk for the owners and can allow...
called Nihon Sangyo, or Nissan for short. Kuhara went on to a career in politics, forging ties with future Prime Minister
Prime Minister of Japan
The is the head of government of Japan. He is appointed by the Emperor of Japan after being designated by the Diet from among its members, and must enjoy the confidence of the House of Representatives to remain in office...
Giichi Tanaka and other political and military leaders, which Aikawa would later use to his advantage.
In the stock market boom following the 1931 Manchurian Incident, Aikawa used the opportunity to buy majority shareholdings in 132 subsidiary companies of Nissan to create a new zaibatsu
Zaibatsu
is a Japanese term referring to industrial and financial business conglomerates in the Empire of Japan, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy from the Meiji period until the end of World War II.-Terminology:...
, the Nissan Konzerne. The companies included Nissan Motors
Nissan Motors
, usually shortened to Nissan , is a multinational automaker headquartered in Japan. It was a core member of the Nissan Group, but has become more independent after its restructuring under Carlos Ghosn ....
, Isuzu
Isuzu
, is a Japanese car, commercial vehicle and heavy truck manufacturing company, headquartered in Tokyo. In 2005, Isuzu became the world's largest manufacturer of medium to heavy duty trucks. It has assembly and manufacturing plants in the Japanese city of Fujisawa, as well as in the prefectures...
, NEC Corporation, Nippon Mining Holdings Company
Japan Energy
is a Japanese petroleum company, which is a subsidiary wholly owned by . Nippon Mining Holdings Group has four main business areas, petroleum, non-ferrous metals, electronics materials and other operations...
, Nissan Chemicals, Hitachi
Hitachi, Ltd.
is a Japanese multinational conglomerate headquartered in Marunouchi 1-chome, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan. The company is the parent of the Hitachi Group as part of the larger DKB Group companies...
, Nichiyu Corporation, Nichirei Corporation, Nissan Marine Insurance
Sompo Japan Insurance
, or Sompo Japan , is a Japanese insurance company. It is the second-largest property insurance company in Japan only behind Tokio Marine, with market share of 19.3% in 2007....
, Nissan Mutual Life Insurance
Nissan Mutual Life Insurance
Nissan Mutual Life Insurance Company was a Japanese company that went bankrupt on April 25, 1997. It was the first time since the postwar period that a life insurer went bankrupt....
and others. The group included some of the most technologically advanced companies in Japan at the time.
In 1937, at the invitation of his relative Nobusuke Kishi
Nobusuke Kishi
was a Japanese politician and the 56th and 57th Prime Minister of Japan from February 25, 1957 to June 12, 1958 and from then to July 19, 1960. He was often called Shōwa no yōkai .- Early life :...
, he moved to Manchukuo
Manchukuo
Manchukuo or Manshū-koku was a puppet state in Manchuria and eastern Inner Mongolia, governed under a form of constitutional monarchy. The region was the historical homeland of the Manchus, who founded the Qing Empire in China...
and agreed with the Japanese Kwantung Army's vision of a syndicalist economy
Syndicalism
Syndicalism is a type of economic system proposed as a replacement for capitalism and an alternative to state socialism, which uses federations of collectivised trade unions or industrial unions...
and centralized industrial development plan for Manchukuo. He also moved the headquarters of Nissan to Manchukuo, whereit became the core of the Manchurian Industrial Development Company
Manchurian Industrial Development Company
The was an industrial conglomerate, or zaibatsu, in the Japanese controlled Empire of Manchukuo, established at the instigation of the Imperial Japanese Army to further in industrialization of Manchukuo, and in particular, to make it self-sufficient in strategic heavy industries.-History:Following...
, a new Manchukuo zaibatsu, partly owned by Nissan and the Manchukuo government.
In his position as president and chairman Aikawa guided all industrial efforts in Manchukuo, implementing two five-year plans during the 1930s, following some the previous economical and industrial lines envisioned Army ideologist Naoki Hoshino
Naoki Hoshino
was a bureaucrat and politician who served in the Taishō and early Shōwa period Japanese government, and as an official in the Empire of Manchukuo.-Biography:Hoshino was born in Yokohama, where his father was involved in the textile industry...
. However, Aikawa differed from Noshino's original conception in that he favored a more monopolistic
Monopoly
A monopoly exists when a specific person or enterprise is the only supplier of a particular commodity...
approach, arguing that the economic state of Manchukuo was still too primitive to permit free market capitalism
Capitalism
Capitalism is an economic system that became dominant in the Western world following the demise of feudalism. There is no consensus on the precise definition nor on how the term should be used as a historical category...
. Aikawa also received bank loans from American steel industrialists to support the Manchukuo economy, which created considerable controversy in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
with its policy of Non-recognition
Stimson Doctrine
The Stimson Doctrine is a policy of the United States federal government, enunciated in a note of January 7, 1932, to Japan and China, of non-recognition of international territorial changes that were executed by force. The doctrine was an application of the principle of ex injuria jus non oritur...
.
However, while his economic views were in line with Imperial Japanese Army
Imperial Japanese Army
-Foundation:During the Meiji Restoration, the military forces loyal to the Emperor were samurai drawn primarily from the loyalist feudal domains of Satsuma and Chōshū...
policy, his political views were not. Aikawa was a strong opponent of the Tripartite Alliance, and predicted that the forces of the United Kingdom
United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
and France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
would eventually prevail over Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany
Nazi Germany , also known as the Third Reich , but officially called German Reich from 1933 to 1943 and Greater German Reich from 26 June 1943 onward, is the name commonly used to refer to the state of Germany from 1933 to 1945, when it was a totalitarian dictatorship ruled by...
should a general war break out. He supported the Fugu Plan
Fugu Plan
The Jewish settlement in Imperial Japan involved the movement of Jews to and through Japan to its occupied areas of China shortly prior to and during World War II, coinciding with the Second Sino-Japanese War...
, a project to settle Jewish refugees
Jewish refugees
In the course of history, Jewish populations have been expelled or ostracised by various local authorities and have sought asylum from antisemitism numerous times...
in Manchukuo. In 1942, at the instigation of the Kwantung Army, Aikawa resigned chairman of the Manchurian Industrial Development Company, and moved back to Japan.
After the surrender of Japan
Surrender of Japan
The surrender of Japan in 1945 brought hostilities of World War II to a close. By the end of July 1945, the Imperial Japanese Navy was incapable of conducting operations and an Allied invasion of Japan was imminent...
, Aikawa was arrested by the American occupation authorities
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers
Supreme Commander of the Allied Powers was the title held by General Douglas MacArthur during the Occupation of Japan following World War II...
and incarcerated in Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison
Sugamo Prison was located in the district of Ikebukuro, which is now part of the Toshima ward of Tokyo, Japan-History:...
for 20 months as a Class A war crimes suspect. He was freed before his case came to trial, however, during this time, the Nissan zaibatsu was dissolved.
After his release, Aikawa played a key role in post-war economic reconstruction of Japan, and purchased a commercial bank
Commercial bank
After the implementation of the Glass–Steagall Act, the U.S. Congress required that banks engage only in banking activities, whereas investment banks were limited to capital market activities. As the two no longer have to be under separate ownership under U.S...
to organize loans to small companies. He served as president of Teikoku Oil Company and of the Japan Petroleum Exploration Company, and in 1953, was elected to a seat in the House of Councilors of the Diet of Japan. With the help of Nobusuke Kishi
Nobusuke Kishi
was a Japanese politician and the 56th and 57th Prime Minister of Japan from February 25, 1957 to June 12, 1958 and from then to July 19, 1960. He was often called Shōwa no yōkai .- Early life :...
, then prime minister, he achieved his goal in implementing economic-control law and policies as leader of the Chuseiren, a pressure group that became the main federation of small and medium sized companies in the 1960s.
Aikawa died of acute gall bladder inflammation
Cholecystitis
-Signs and symptoms:Cholecystitis usually presents as a pain in the right upper quadrant. This is known as biliary colic. This is initially intermittent, but later usually presents as a constant, severe pain. During the initial stages, the pain may be felt in an area totally separate from the site...
in 1967. His grave is at the Tama Cemetery outside Tokyo.