Mitsubishi Corporation
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Native name
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三菱商事株式会社 |
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Romanized name
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Mitsubishi Shōji Kabushiki-gaisha |
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Formerly called
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Kowa Jitsugyo Kaisha Mitsubishi Shoji |
| Public company | |
| Traded as | : : |
| Industry | General trading company |
| Founded | Incorporated in 1918 Refounded in 1954 |
| Headquarters | Marunouchi, Chiyoda, Tokyo, Japan |
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Number of locations
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222 |
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Area served
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Worldwide |
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Key people
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Ken Kobayashi (Chairman) Takehiko Kakiuchi (President and CEO) |
| Services |
Financial Services Machinery Chemicals Construction Energy Metal Food Consumer Goods |
| Revenue |
 ¥19,233,443 million (2011) |
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¥316,141 million (2011) |
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¥463,188 million (2011) |
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| Total assets |
¥11,347,442 million (2011) |
| Total equity |
¥3,600,990 million (2011) |
| Subsidiaries | Lawson (32%) |
| Website | www.mitsubishicorp.com |
Mitsubishi Corporation (三菱商事株式会社 Mitsubishi Shōji Kabushiki-gaisha?) is Japan's largest trading company (sogo shosha) and a member of the Mitsubishi keiretsu. Mitsubishi Corporation employs over 60,000 people and has seven business segments, including finance, banking, energy, machinery, chemicals and food.
The company traces its roots to the Mitsubishi conglomerate founded by Yataro Iwasaki. Iwasaki was originally employed by the Tosa clan of modern-day Kōchi Prefecture, who posted him to Nagasaki in the 1860s. During this time, Iwasaki became close to Sakamoto Ryōma, a major figure in the Meiji Restoration that ended the Tokugawa shogunate and restored the primacy of the emperor of Japan in 1867. Iwasaki was placed in charge of the Tosa clan's trading operation, Tsukumo Shokai, based in Osaka. This company changed its name in the following years to Mitsukawa Shokai and then to Mitsubishi Shokai. Around 1871, the company was renamed Mitsubishi Steamship Company and began a mail service between Yokohama and Shanghai with government sponsorship.
Under Iwasaki's leadership in the late 1800s, Mitsubishi diversified its business into insurance (Tokio Marine Insurance Company and Meiji Life Insurance Company), mining (Takashima Coal Mine) and shipbuilding. Following his death in 1885, his successor Yanosuke Iwasaki merged the shipping operation with a rival enterprise to form the Nippon Yusen Kaisha (NYK) and refocused Mitsubishi's business on coal and copper mining. In 1918, the group's international trading business was spun off to form Mitsubishi Shoji Kaisha.Mitsubishi Goshi Kaisha served as the parent company of the group through World War II, during which group company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (launched in 1934) produced ships, aircraft and heavy machinery for the war effort.
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