Abstract: Japanese general trading companies are at the forefront of global business. Among them, the five largest general trading companies, Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Ltd., Itochu Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, and Marubeni, all occupy the top six positions in global trading rankings. While trading companies are often considered uniquely Japanese, they are also known globally as 「SOGO SHOSHA」, attracting attention for their business models. The success story of Japan’s general trading companies has been a topic of much discussion including why they emerged, how they developed, and what still remains as the source of their competitiveness.

The origins of Japan’s general trading companies stemmed from a desire to strengthen their competitiveness against the world powers. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan pursued industrialization through the Shokusan Promotion Policy, aiming for economic dominance over Western powers. For Japan to achieve economic growth, a trade-based model - importing raw materials, processing them into manufactured goods, and then exporting them - was appropriate; however, with modern industry still underdeveloped, trading companies were essential to handle trade on behalf of manufacturers. Moreover, in the early Meiji period, Japan’s trade was heavily dependent on foreign trading companies, making the development of Japanese trading companies a top priority; however, talent capable of handling global business with international knowledge and experience was limited. Accordingly, conglomerates like Mitsui or Mitsubishi concentrated their trading divisions and assigned elite university and commercial school graduates to trading companies then. The conglomerates expanded into diverse industries including textiles, metals, chemicals, and machinery, and their trading divisions, which handled the import of raw materials and the export of manufactured goods for their group companies, grew exponentially along with the conglomerates’ growth. This led to the emergence of today’s general trading companies, starting with Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corporation (1).

In the period of rapid economic growth, however, Japan’s core role in economic growth has weakened, putting the country at risk. Under these circumstances, a more detailed analysis on the current state and role of Japan’s general trading companies will allow us to understand them better and predict the future competitiveness of Japanese companies.

Keywords: a general trading company, the development of a general trading company

, a trading power, sources of competitiveness, rukomi evaluation, the crisis of a general trading company