Research On Mitsui's Economic Activities In Northeast China(1926-1941)

Since the foundation of Japanese Meji government,that is transplanting western capitalism,began to modernize,and committed to continental expansion.However,at that time,as a semi-colonial country,Japan' s commercial power is in the hands of foreign businessmen and unable to expand.So,the Japanese firm as the pioneer to develop oversea market to restore Japanese business right.Among them,directly protected and supported by the Meiji government.Mitsui & Co,founded in 1876,which made its fortune with the official Miike Coal,became the backbone.The next year,Mitsui & Co set its first overseas branch in Shanghai and began to expand its trade with China,building a distribution network from inside the pass to outside.In1888,when the drought occurred in the soybean supply area of Japan,the circulation network of Mitsui & Co extended from domestic to the Northeast China.Mitsui & Co made the internal reform to adapt to the era,so that to get rid of political business.With the outbreak of the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo Japanese War,Mitsui &Co has developed rapidly and become the largest comprehensive trading house in Japan,and actively in officers and esquires class.From 1926 to 1941,the domestic and international situation has changed dramatically,in order to adapt to the changes of the times,Mitsui & Co has carried out a phased operation in Northeast China.During the period of 1926 to 1937,under the influence of the world economic crisis,in order to ensure trade with China,Mitsui& Co united Japanese businessmen in China to form industrial organizations.After the break of the September 18 th Incident,Japanese trade in China fell into a state of contraction and stagnation.After the full-scale Anti-Japanese War broke out,under the wartime system,the trade structure characteristics of Mitsui & Co have changed from independence,monopoly and exclusiveness to a kind of special military demand that has lost its trade right to some extent.From “political & commercial firm” to“ businessman extraordinary ”,Mitsui & Co showed the nature of the chaebol business firm pursuing economic interests.The trade and circulation network of Mitsui & Co in Northeast China is closelyrelated to China's customs in different periods.With the development of the war,Mitsui & Co transformed from a one-system to a dual system that not only marked the collapse of Japan' s wartime economy,but also reflected its two sides relationship with the Japanese imperialist.