What is the term for the monolithic industrial-financial complex in Japan?

TerenceWeasly

zaibatsu. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Zaibatsu Zaibatsu is a Japanese term referring to the "financial cliques," or business conglomerates, whose influence and size allowed for control over significant parts of the Japanese economy throughout the Edo and Meiji periods. The term was commonly used up until the end of the Pacific War (World War II). The term zaibatsu was used in the 19th century and the first half of the 20th century to refer to large family-controlled banking and industrial combines in Japan. While the term was used arbitrarily in the United States throughout the 1980s to refer to any large Japanese corporation, it is not used natively by Japanese speakers for anything other than historical discussions in reference to Edo- and Meiji-era zaibatsu. The Big Four zaibatsu of Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo and Yasuda are the most historically significant zaibatsu groups, having roots stemming from the Edo period of Japanese history. During this period and later into the Meiji period, the Tokugawa shogunate employed their services and financial powers for various endeavors, which the zaibatsu often provided free of charge in exchange for the privilege of using government funds. After the Russo-Japanese War, a number of so-called "second-tier" zaibatsu also emerged, mostly as the result of business conglomerations. Some more famous second-tier zaibatsu included the Okura, Furukawa, Nakajima, and Nissan groups, among several others. [Pulled text from the reference link - McG] Nov 04 07, 6:28 AM