Sumitomo Group

Sumitomo Group, a keiretsu (consortium) of independent Japanese companies that were created out of the giant, family-owned Sumitomo zaibatsu (business combine), which was broken up after World War II. The zaibatsu had grown out of the House of Sumitomo (Sumitomo-ke), one of the major Japanese merchant houses of the Tokugawa period (1603–1867).

The Sumitomo enterprise originated in a medicine and book shop set up in Kyōto in 1630 by Sumitomo Masatomo. His brother-in-law, Soga Riemon, had set up a small copper refinery that used a European-derived procedure for extracting the gold and silver content of copper ores. Soga’s oldest son, Tomomochi, who became Sumitomo’s son-in-law, established a copper refinery in Ōsaka that absorbed both families’ business operations and became the centre of the Japanese copper industry. In 1690–91 the company discovered and began working a huge copper find on the island of Shikoku; this mine became the basis of much of Sumitomo’s future enterprises. The House of Sumitomo established a close relationship with the Tokugawa shogunate and was able to export large quantities of copper despite the general ban on overseas trade.

At first, during the early Meiji period (1868–1912), the link to the shogunate was detrimental to Sumitomo, but the company quickly won the support of the new government. Sumitomo began to diversify into such interests as copper products and steelmaking and later into chemicals and machinery. A family-controlled holding company, Sumitomo, Ltd. (Sumitomo Gōshi Kaisha), was organized in 1921 to direct the emerging combine. In the 1930s Sumitomo became one of the largest zaibatsu in Japan, and by the end of World War II it controlled some 135 companies. With the postwar dissolution of the holding company by the U.S. occupation authorities, the former subsidiaries became independent companies.

In the 1950s these companies began to reassociate. The new grouping that emerged was significantly different from the old zaibatsu in that there was no central, family-controlled holding company. It was characterized instead by informal policy coordination between the various company presidents and by a degree of financial interdependency among the companies—an organizational practice known as keiretsu. By the early 21st century, the Sumitomo group comprised several dozen firms, and all of the major firms were large multinational corporations based in Tokyo or Ōsaka, such as the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group, Sumitomo Chemical, Sumitomo Electric, and other mining and metals companies.

Sumitomo Bank, Ltd. (Sumitomo Ginkō), was established in 1895 and functioned as the main financial instrument of the Sumitomo zaibatsu. After World War II the bank became the central coordinating body of the companies in the Sumitomo group. By the late 20th century the Sumitomo Bank had become one of the chief commercial banks in Japan and one of the largest banks in the world. In 2001 Sumitomo Bank merged with the Sakwa Bank, which led to the formation of the Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in 2002.

Sumitomo Chemical Company, Ltd. (Sumitomo Kagaku Kōgyō KK), was established in 1913 and acquired its present name in 1934. Originally involved in the recovery of sulfur and the production of fertilizer from the byproducts of copper mining, the company now manufactures a wide range of petrochemicals, other chemical products, and pharmaceuticals.

Sumitomo Electric Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Denki Kōgyō KK), and Sumitomo Heavy Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Jūkikai Kōgyō KK), are descended from subsidiaries of Sumitomo’s copper interests. Sumitomo Electric, established in 1897, is a major producer of electric wire and cable. Sumitomo Heavy Industries, established as a separate company in 1934, became a major producer of steelmaking systems, mass-production machinery, other heavy machinery and equipment, and ships.

Three large corporations—Sumitomo Metal Mining Company, Ltd. (Sumitomo Kinzoku Kōzan KK), Sumitomo Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Kinzoku Kōgyō KK), and Sumitomo Light Metal Industries, Ltd. (Sumitomo Keikinzoku Kōgyō KK)—emerged from the first mining and smelting operation established in the late 16th century. Sumitomo Metal Mining, the descendent of the original company, was established in 1950. In addition to its primary interests in the mining, smelting, and processing of nonferrous metals (excluding aluminum), its activities have included the manufacture of electronics materials, chemicals, and construction materials. Sumitomo Metal Industries, established in 1935, was called Fusō Metal Industries during the occupation after World War II. The company became a leading manufacturer of steel and steel products, and it diversified into semiconductors and biotechnology.