ABSTRACT

The History of Mitsubishi Corporation in London examines the culture clashes, the friendships and the changing businesses that Mitsubishi Corporation's London branch oversaw in the eighty-five years following its foundation. It examines the paradox of how Mitsubishi Corporation could operate internationally for nearly a century, and still remain resolutely Japanese. With the slowdown in Japanese economic growth however, this book asks whether the corporation needs to change its mission, as well as controversially questioning whether information technology is in fact a barrier to, rather than a driving force for, successful globalization.
As a long-term employee of Mitsubishi both in Tokyo and London, Pernille Rudlin has a unique perspective on the world of Japanese corporate culture in Britain. No other corporate history has examined a Japanese subsidiary in such detail, including interviews with more than thirty employees past and present.

chapter |7 pages

Introduction

chapter |16 pages

The lead up to 1915

From domestic shipping to international shipbuilding

chapter |8 pages

1915–1920

An apprenticeship in international commerce

chapter |16 pages

1921–1930

Survival through international diversification

chapter |27 pages

1931–1941

Nationalism, trade friction and decline

chapter |16 pages

1947–1960

Securing resources to rebuild Japan

chapter |38 pages

1961–1970

Growing with the Japanese economy

chapter |52 pages

1971–1980

Supporting Japan's foreign investment

chapter |27 pages

1981–1990

Responding to globalisation

chapter |22 pages

The 1990s and beyond

Representing Japan in a globalising world