This is called a zaibatsu in Japan and a chaebol in South Korea. The Korean ones in particular are simultaneously fascinating and disturbing due to their interwovenness with the state.
>This is called a zaibatsu in Japan and a chaebol in South Korea. The Korean ones in particular are simultaneously fascinating and disturbing due to their interwovenness with the state.
The zaibatsu were similarly interwoven with the Japanese state through WW2, when the connections were cut during the US occupation. While Sony, Toyota, Mitsubishi, et al. are very large companies and have the corresponding influence any such large company would have in any developed country, there is no comparison with the dominance of Samsung, Hyundai, and LG of the Korean economy and politics.
is there no comparison though?
atleast until the last late 20th century, many european countries had companies which where basically state sponsored enterprises in certain regards. (Phillips, Volkswagen, Airbus etc).
No comparison. Take Mitsubishi. I'm not sure what most people think of when they think of Mitsubishi (probably econobox cars?). However, if you look at the entire scope of the Mitsubishi Group, you get a different idea...
Mitsubishi UFJ is Japan's largest bank and the world's second largest bank holding company with ~$2tn of deposits.
Mitsubishi Corp is Japan's largest general trading company, and includes active business lines covering business services, consultancy, infrastructure (airports, railways), asset management and finance, energy trading, primary extraction of metals and minerals, heavy machinery, defense contracts, ships, chemical manufacturing and trading, as well as retail.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries separately manufacturers airplanes, air-to-air missiles, helicopters, aerospace turbine engines, main battle tanks, nuclear power plants, gas turbines generators, LNG carrying ships, cruise liners, space craft, wind turbines and desalination equipment.
MHI's subsidiaries also include Mitsubishi Chemical (which is Japan's largest chemicals company), Nikon Corporation (cameras, optics etc), and Mitsubishi Motors.
