Nissan Group

Nissan Group (日産コンツェルン, Nissan Kontserun, "Nissan Concern"), or formerly Nissan zaibatsu, is one of 15 of Japan's most powerful business groupings. Founded in 1928 by Yoshisuke Aikawa, the group was originally a holding company created as an offshoot of Kuhara Mining Co.(present day Nippon Mining & Metals Company), which Aikawa had taken over as president of from his brother-in-law, Fusanosuke Kuhara. After the bankruptcy of the Kuhara zaibatsu following World War I, Aikawa reorganized its assets into (Japan Industries) or Nippon Sangyo Corporation (日本産業株式会社 Nippon Sangyō Kabushiki Kaisha), Nissan for short.

The group's core business was real estate and insurance with hundreds of member companies, including fisheries, mining companies, and is affiliated with Hitachi Group companies, as well as what Nissan is now known for—its automobile industry. After World War II, the zaibatsu was disbanded, and reformed into Nichiyo-kai, otherwise known as Nissan Group.

Although the Nissan name was primarily known for its car manufacturing outside Japan, Nissan Motors was a comparatively small side business compared to its core real estate business until the real estate crash of the early 1990s (see Japanese asset price bubble). Like the similar subprime crisis, the crash dealt a devastating blow to the Nissan Group by leaving it with several hundred billions of dollars of debt.

The Nissan Group has long since shed the majority of its real estate assets, and has focused on manufacturing and insurance. Nissan Motors was given more independence as Renault SA of France bought a 38.8% stake for $5.4 billion in Nissan Motors (日産自動車株式会社) in 1999 and installed Chief Executive Carlos Ghosn of Brazil. Its successful turnaround was attributed by CEO Ghosn to his ability to detach it from Nissan keiretsu connections and debt and eliminate 23,000 jobs from the Japanese workforce.

Nissan Concern Member Companies

• Nissan Subgroup
  • 日産自動車 Nissan Motors
  • 日産化学工業 Nissan Chemicals
  • 日産証券 Nissan Securities
  • 日産農林 NNK
  • 日産マリーン Nissan Marine
  • Nissan Outboard Motors
  • Kinugawa Rubber Industrial Company
  • Calsonic Kansei
  • Kayaba Industry
  • UD Trucks
• Hitachi Group
  • Hitachi, Ltd
    • INES Corporation
    • Hitachi Maxell
    • Nisseicom Limited
  • 日立キャピタル株式会社 Hitachi Capital
  • 日立金属 Hitachi Metals
  • Hitachi Cable
  • 日立化成工業株式会社 Hitachi Chemical
    • 新神戸電機株式会社 Shin-Kobe Electric Machinery Company
  • 株式会社ニチレイ Nichirei Corporation
  • Hitachi Zosen Corporation
  • 日立建機株式会社 Hitachi Construction Machinery
    • TCM株式会社 TCM Corp
  • Nippon Suisan Kaisha
  • 日油株式会社 NOF Corporation
    • ニッサン石鹸株式会社 Nissan Soap Company
    • 昭和炭酸株式会社 Showa Tansan Company, Limited
  • りんかい日産建設 Rinkai Nissan Construction
• Nippon Mining Group
  • 新日鉱ホールディングス株式会社 Nippon Mining Holdings, Incorporated
    • Japan Energy Corporation
    • 日鉱金属株式会社 Nippon Mining & Metals Company
    • タツタ電線株式会社 Tatsuta Electric Wire Cable Company
    • 東邦チタニウム株式会社 Toho Titanium Corporation
    • 株式会社丸運 Maruwa Corporation
    • 鹿島石油株式会社 Kashima Oil Company, Limited
• Sompo Japan Insurance Group (formerly Yasuda Fire & Marine Insurance Company)
  • Sompo Japan Insurance
    • 日産センチュリー証券 Nissan Century Security Company, Limited
    • 兼松日産農林株式会社 Kanematsu-NNK Corporation

Former members

• Victor Company of Japan or JVC, sold to Panasonic in 1953, spun-off as an independent; merged into Kenwood Corporation to create JVCKenwood Corp.
• Columbia Music Entertainment - founded 1910 and divested from Nissan Group 2002
• Denon - founded 1910 and merged with Marantz Japan Incorporated in 2002 to form D&M Holdings
• Nissan Mutual Life Insurance (Nippon Mutual Life) - founded in 1909 and bankrupt in 1997
• Nitto Denko - founded 1918

See also

• Yasuda zaibatsu