ABSTRACT
Business transactions in Japan are concerned with more than just the commercial aspect, and so the idea of dealing at arm’s length is rather incomprehensible to large companies and even more so to small firms. A business practice attesting to this that happens to be particularly widespread is the so-called kankei-gaisha (related companies); here, interests go beyond just owning a controlling interest in another company. Basically, a Japanese entrepreneur who establishes related companies chooses to do so for managerial, personnel and financial reasons (Ballon and Tomita 1988:38-42).
