ABSTRACT
The zaibatsu were a predominant form of business organization amongst large enterprises in Japan during the inter-war years. It is generally agreed that, since the end of the Second World War, all the stakeholders of Japanese enterprises – shareholders, financial institutions, managers, employees, and customers – have exercised some degree of influence on corporate governance. Among the zaibatsu of the inter-war period, however, the power of the holding company as shareholder was virtually absolute, and employees had no influence on corporate governance. Similarly, zaibatsu-affiliated financial institutions were subservient to the will of the holding companies, and had little power on zaibatsu subsidiary companies.
