General trading company - Sogoshosha (English spelling)

Japanese: 総合商社 - そうごうしょうしゃ（英語表記）general trading company

A Japanese giant trading company that handles a wide variety of commodity trades and trades with a wide range of markets both domestically and internationally is called a general trading company. It is often contrasted with a specialized trading company that limits its field of activity to a specific commodity or business. The English translation of general trading company is often "general merchant," but this English word often refers to a small retail store that handles everything, such as a general store or "yorozya," and does not mean a giant trading company like the Japanese general trading company. In countries other than Japan, there are examples of large trading companies that are called grain majors, such as Cargill in the United States and Dreyfus in France, and large trading companies that acted as colonial traders, such as International Rotterdam Borsme in the Netherlands, but all of them are biased toward specific commodities or regions, and there are no general giant trading companies that can compare to the Japanese general trading companies.

The characteristics of general trading companies can be summarized in the following five points.

(1) The company's size and sales revenue are huge.

(2) The company handles a wide variety of products.

(3) The business activities are diverse and the target market is global.

(4) Having overseas branches, offices, sales offices, etc. established throughout the world and an excellent information network.

(5) In addition to acting as the coordinator of the corporate group, the trading company itself controls a large number of affiliated companies.

[Misono students, etc.]

function

The scope of activities of general trading companies is extremely diverse, and the products they handle are so diverse that they are sometimes said to range from instant ramen to missiles. Although summarizing the functions of such general trading companies may result in simplifying the complex functions of real trading companies, they can be summarized as follows.

(1) Trading Function The main business of general trading companies is international trading, which of course involves domestic transactions such as purchasing and sales. In addition, they also need agency services such as land, sea and air transportation, warehousing, and insurance.

(2) Investment and financial functions By purchasing goods from manufacturers and issuing bills of exchange, they can lend funds even when the goods are not actually sold to consumers. In particular, they play a financial role for small and medium-sized enterprises, providing loans for the cost of raw materials and the purchase of finished products, as well as loans for capital investment. This function arises from the fact that trading companies know a company's creditworthiness and accounting details better than banks do through transactions. Through this, trading companies' financial function for small and medium-sized enterprises also becomes a means of controlling the company. Furthermore, the development of import and export trade business often goes beyond the simple handling of goods and extends to overseas investment in local production and resource development.

(3) Organizing function When developing huge systemic projects such as urban development, marine development, nuclear power generation, and high-speed railway networks, an organizing function is necessary to organize a large number of related companies such as manufacturers and construction companies. This function also plays an important role in the export of plants and the underwriting of large-scale overseas projects.

(4) Information Function: Needless to say, in order to operate these diverse businesses and develop overseas markets, the information network that links the general trading companies' branches, offices, and sales offices around the world is extremely useful.

Thus, although the functions of a general trading company can be categorized into several categories, in reality the functions overlap and are intricately intertwined. It is in these comprehensive functions that the distinctive features of a general trading company are apparent.

[Misono students, etc.]

History

Why did such general trading companies appear in Japan? To this end, it is necessary to look at their history in two periods, before and after World War II.

[Misono students, etc.]

General trading companies before World War II

Before World War II, only two zaibatsu trading companies, Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Shoji, were general trading companies in Japan. Next to these two, Toyo Menka (later Tomen) and Nichimen Jitsugyo (later Nichimen) were specialized trading companies that imported cotton and there was a large gap between them and Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Shoji in terms of trading volume. Third place, Toyo Menka, was a subsidiary of Mitsui & Co. that was formed when the cotton department of Mitsui & Co. was spun off in 1920 (Taisho 9). In this way, the two zaibatsu trading companies before World War II stood out from the rest in terms of the breadth of their trading performance, the scope of their business, and their long history.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. has a history dating back to the Edo Period when it was a merchant capital that operated both as a money exchanger and a kimono merchant. After it became Mitsui & Co., Ltd. in 1876 (Meiji 9), it rapidly expanded its business and became a general trading company by the middle of the Meiji Period. Mitsubishi Corporation's history dates back to the Meiji Restoration, but it was founded in 1873 as Mitsubishi Shokai by Iwasaki Yataro, a low-ranking samurai from the Tosa Domain, and since then it has steadily expanded its business and also became a general trading company by the middle of the Meiji Period. Moreover, these two companies were at the center of the Mitsui and Mitsubishi zaibatsu, respectively, and rather than being simple trading companies, they occupied a higher position than other zaibatsu-affiliated companies. In the Japanese economy before World War II, the industrial structure was centered on light industry such as the textile industry, and there was a dual structure of backward agriculture and small and medium-sized enterprises on one hand and modern large-scale manufacturing on the other. Therefore, the role of trading companies in linking large industries such as spinning companies and silk-reeling companies with small textile manufacturers and secondary product manufacturers through the distribution process was important. There was also a lot of room for trading companies to exercise their functions, such as distributing agricultural products such as rice, wheat, and cocoons nationwide, and selling fertilizer and feed to rural areas. The role played by these two zaibatsu-affiliated trading companies in breaking away from the trading post trade of the early Meiji period and developing foreign trade was also extremely important, and they did not remain merely as trading companies acting as agents. In other words, the backwardness and unique nature of the Japanese economy before World War II necessitated the widespread and diverse functions of general trading companies, which were said to cover "everything from chicken feed to warships."

[Misono students, etc.]

General trading companies after World War II

After World War II, as part of the occupation policy to break up the zaibatsu, both Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Corporation were ordered to disband. This was because the size of the two companies and their role in following Japan's military aggression into the Korean Peninsula and mainland China were considered to be aggressive and undemocratic. Thus, during the occupation, the two companies were split up into a number of small trading companies, each with over 100 subsidiaries. However, with the coming into force of the Treaty of Peace with Japan (San Francisco Peace Treaty) in 1952 (Showa 27), mergers were rapidly carried out in order to revive the two companies, with Mitsubishi Corporation completing its reorganization by 1954 and Mitsui & Co. completing its merger campaign for revival by 1959. The fact that Mitsui & Co. was revived five years later than Mitsubishi Corporation reversed the rankings of the two companies compared to before World War II, and this delay has not been made up to this day. While Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi Shoji were being dissolved, Kansai textile trading companies such as Itochu and Marubeni filled the gap by expanding into the export of steel, machinery, and chemical products, and the import of industrial raw materials and fuels, and became general trading companies. As a result, with the revived Mitsubishi Shoji and Mitsui & Co. and these trading companies that became general trading companies after the war, the number of general trading companies had increased to over a dozen.

During the period of high economic growth after the Second World War and the shift to heavy and chemical industry, these general trading companies competed fiercely in all markets, including import and export trade and domestic transactions, while expanding their business scope. During this time, there were a number of mergers between trading companies, such as the merger of Takashimaya Iida by Marubeni (1955), the merger of Kinoshita Sansho by Mitsui & Co. (1965), the merger of Kanematsu and Gosho (1967), the merger of Nissho and Iwai Sangyo (1968), and the merger of Ataka Sangyo by Itochu (1977). After the collapse of the bubble economy, as the recession worsened, the general trading companies also entered a period of reorganization. There is a movement to not only strengthen restructuring and cut unprofitable divisions, but also to make fundamental changes to the structure of the general trading companies themselves. In May 1999, Kanematsu, which was one of the general trading companies, carried out a major reorganization of its business fields, narrowing the scale of its operations and reducing its workforce, which forced it to declare that it would transform itself into a specialized trading company. This trend of narrowing down its business and reducing its workforce spread to other trading companies, and the general trading company system also entered a period of reorganization. The seven general trading companies that remain to this day are Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsui & Co., Itochu Corporation, Marubeni Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, Sojitz (established in April 2004 by the merger of Nissho Iwai and Nichimen), and Toyota Tsusho.

The existence of general trading companies and their diverse activities have attracted the attention of the world as the Japanese economy has grown and globalization has progressed. There are many economic officials and experts from foreign governments who even go so far as to say that the increase in exports of Japanese products is the result of the activities of general trading companies. However, whether the growth in Japan's exports was largely due to the power of general trading companies, or conversely, whether the development of the Japanese economy and the advancement of industrial technology led to the development of general trading companies, is a question that seems like a circular argument of "which came first, the chicken or the egg." In reality, general trading companies have followed a path of expansion and development along with the development of the Japanese economy. However, with the collapse of the bubble economy and the beginning of an era of low growth, general trading companies have been forced to change course from their previous path of general expansion due to declining performance and worsening profitability. Each trading company is rushing to restructure, such as withdrawing from unprofitable divisions, narrowing down key divisions, and streamlining headquarters functions. The background to this is thought to be the fact that while the investment and financial sector, which was characterized by high risks such as real estate investment during the bubble period, has expanded, the trading company's original function in import and export trade has declined. As many twists and turns and upheavals are expected both inside and outside the Japanese economy in the future, the role of general trading companies will likely shift to focus on resource development, environmental issues, and the coordination of large-scale international projects.

[Misono Hitoshi and Morimoto Mitsuo]

"Sogo Shosha and Marketing: The Strategic Shift in the Late 1980s" by Soga Nobutaka (1992, Hakuto Shobo) ▽ "The Future of Trading Companies" by Nakatani Iwao (1998, Toyo Keizai Inc.) ▽ "Sogo Shosha Big Bang" by Kawamura Mikio and Hayashikawa Masayoshi (1999, Toyo Keizai Inc.) ▽ "Sogo Shosha: Structural Change in Commercial Rights and 21st Century Strategies" by Shimada Katsumi, Huang Hsiao-chun and Tanaka Akira (2003, Minerva Shobo) ▽ "Sogo Shosha: The Life Cycle of Trading Company Functions" by Iwatani Masaki and Tanigawa Tatsuo (2006, Tax and Accounting Association)

Source: Shogakukan Encyclopedia Nipponica About Encyclopedia Nipponica Information | Legend

Japanese:

多種多様な商品取引と、国の内外にわたる広範な市場との取引を一手に取り扱う日本の巨大商社を総合商社という。それは、しばしば特定の商品・事業に活動分野を限定する専門商社と対置される。総合商社の英訳にしばしばgeneral merchantという語があてられることがあるが、この英語はむしろ雑貨店とか「よろず屋」とよばれる何でも取り扱う小規模な小売店をいう場合が多く、日本の総合商社のような巨大な商社を意味する語とはいえない。日本以外の各国には、アメリカのカーギル社、フランスのドレフュス社などのような穀物メジャーといわれる大商社や、オランダのインターナチオ・ロッテルダム・ボルスミのような植民地貿易商社としての大商社の例はあるが、いずれも特定の商品や地域に偏っていて、日本の総合商社に匹敵するような総合巨大商社は見当たらない。

　総合商社の特徴は、次の5点に集約することができる。

(1)企業規模、売上高が巨大であること。

(2)取扱い商品が多種類にわたっていること。

(3)営業内容が多彩であり、対象とする市場が世界的規模にわたっていること。

(4)海外支社、支店、営業所などが全世界にわたって設置され、優れた情報網をもっていること。

(5)企業集団の取りまとめ役であると同時に、商社自体が多数の系列企業を支配していること。

［御園生等］

機能

総合商社の活動範囲はきわめて多彩であり、取り扱う商品も「インスタント・ラーメンからミサイルまで」といわれることがあるように、多種類にわたっている。こういう総合商社の機能を要約することは現実の商社の複雑な機能を単純化することになりかねないが、整理すれば次のようになる。

(1)取引機能　総合商社の主たる事業は多国間取引であるが、これには仕入れや販売などの国内取引が当然付随する。また、陸上・海上・航空輸送、倉庫、保険などの代理業務も必要となる。

(2)投資・金融機能　メーカーに対し、その商品を購入して手形を発行することにより、実際にはその商品の需要者への販売が行われていない場合でも、資金を融通することができる。とくに、中小企業に対しては、その原材料費や、製品の買い取りによる融資、設備投資資金の融資などに至るまで、金融上の役割を果たしている。これは銀行よりも、取引を通じて企業の信用力、経理内容を商社がよく知っていることから生ずる機能である。この商社の中小企業に対する金融機能は、これを通じて企業を支配する手段ともなっている。また、輸出入貿易業務の発展は、単なる商品の取扱いだけにとどまらず、現地生産や資源開発などの海外投資にまで発展することが多い。

(3)オルガナイザー機能　都市開発や海洋開発、原子力発電、高速鉄道網など、システム的な巨大事業の展開に際しては、多数のメーカー、建設会社などの関連企業を組織化するオルガナイザー機能が必要である。また、プラント輸出や海外大規模プロジェクトの引き受けなどについても、この機能は重要な役割を果たしている。

(4)情報機能　これらの多種多彩な事業を運営し、海外市場を開拓するためには、総合商社の全世界にわたる支社、支店、営業所を結ぶ情報網が役だっていることはいうまでもない。

　このように、総合商社の機能がいくつかに分類されるとはいっても、実際には各機能は重なりあい、複雑に入り組んでいる。そういう総合的な機能において総合商社の特色が発揮されているのである。

［御園生等］

沿革

このような総合商社がなぜ日本に出現したのか、この点については、総合商社の沿革を第二次世界大戦前と大戦後とに分けて、その動きをみることが必要である。

［御園生等］

第二次世界大戦前の総合商社

第二次世界大戦前においては、三井物産、三菱商事(みつびししょうじ)の財閥系商社2社のみが、日本における総合商社であった。この2社に次ぐ東洋棉花(とうようめんか)（後のトーメン）、日綿実業（後のニチメン）などはいずれも綿花輸入などの専門商社であったし、取扱高においても三井物産、三菱商事2社との間に大きな格差があった。また第3位の東洋棉花は、1920年（大正9）に三井物産の棉花部が分離独立した同社の子会社であった。このように、第二次世界大戦前における財閥系2商社は、取扱い実績や営業範囲の広さおよびその歴史の古さからみても群を抜いていた。

　三井物産の場合は、江戸時代の両替商と呉服商を兼営した商人資本以来の歴史をもち、1876年（明治9）に三井物産会社となって以後、急速にその営業を拡大し、明治の中期には総合商社としての実質を備えるに至っていた。三菱商事の場合は、明治維新以降の歴史となるが、土佐藩の下級武士出身の岩崎弥太郎(やたろう)によって1873年に三菱商会として発足して以来、順調に業績を拡大し、これも明治の中ごろには総合商社の実質を備えるに至っている。しかもこれら2社は、それぞれ三井財閥、三菱財閥の中心であって、単なる商社というよりは、ほかの財閥系企業に比べても一段と高い地位を占めていた。第二次世界大戦前の日本経済においては、産業構造が繊維産業などの軽工業中心であり、しかも後れた農業や中小企業などの部分と近代的大工業との二重構造が存在していた。したがって、紡績会社や製糸会社のような大工業と、零細な織物製造業、二次製品製造業との間を流通過程から結び付ける商社の役割が重要であった。また、米・麦・繭などの農産物を全国的な流通にのせたり、肥料や飼料などを農村に販売するなどの商社機能を発揮する余地が大きかった。明治初期の商館貿易から脱却し、外国貿易を開拓する役割においても、これら両財閥系商社の果たした機能はきわめて重要であり、単なる代理商的商社にとどまらなかった。いわば第二次世界大戦前の日本経済の後進的特殊性が、「ニワトリの餌(えさ)から軍艦まで」といわれた広範多彩な総合商社機能を必要としたのであった。

［御園生等］

第二次世界大戦後の総合商社

第二次世界大戦後、占領政策としての財閥解体によって、三井物産と三菱商事の両社は解散の命令を受けた。両社の巨大さと日本の軍事的侵略に追随して朝鮮半島や中国大陸に進出した役割が侵略的かつ非民主的と考えられたからであった。こうして両社は、占領中それぞれ100社以上にわたる群小の商社に分割された。しかし、1952年（昭和27）の対日講和条約（サンフランシスコ講和条約）発効とともに復活のための合併を急速に進め、三菱商事は1954年にほぼ再編のための合併運動が完了し、三井物産も1959年に至って復活のための合併運動が完了した。三井物産の復活が三菱商事より5年遅れたことは、第二次世界大戦前と比べて両社の順位を逆転させ、その遅れは今日まで取り戻されていない。この三井物産、三菱商事の2社が解体されていた間に、その間隙(かんげき)を埋めるものとして伊藤忠商事、丸紅などの関西系繊維商社などが鉄鋼、機械、化学製品の輸出および工業原材料、原燃料などの輸入業務に進出し、総合商社化していった。この結果、復活した三菱商事、三井物産と、これら戦後総合商社化した商社とを加えて、総合商社は十数社に上る状態となった。

　これらの総合商社は、第二次世界大戦後の日本経済の高度成長と、産業構造の重化学工業化の過程で、輸出入貿易、国内取引などあらゆる市場で激烈な競争を演じ、かつ営業範囲を拡大していった。その間、丸紅による高島屋飯田(たかしまやいいだ)の合併（1955）、三井物産による木下産商の合併（1965）、兼松(かねまつ)と江商(ごうしょう)の合併（1967）、日商と岩井産業の合併（1968）、伊藤忠商事による安宅産業(あたかさんぎょう)の合併（1977）など、商社間の集中合併が進んだ。バブル経済の崩壊後、不況の深刻化とともに、総合商社も再編成期に入った。リストラクチャリング（リストラ）の強化、不採算部門の切り捨てだけでなく、総合商社の体制そのものに根本的な修正を加える動きが出ている。1999年（平成11）5月、総合商社の一角を占めていた兼松が事業分野の大幅な選別整理を行い、事業規模の絞り込み、人員の整理により、みずから専門商社への転身を宣言せざるをえなくなった。このような事業整理の絞り込み、人員の大幅な整理の動きは、ほかの商社にも波及し、総合商社体制も再編成の時期に入った。現在まで生き残っている総合商社は、三菱商事、三井物産、伊藤忠商事、丸紅、住友商事、双日(そうじつ)（2004年4月、日商岩井とニチメンが合併して成立）、豊田通商の7社となった。

　総合商社の存在とその多彩な活動は、日本経済の成長とグローバリゼーションの発展に伴い、世界の注目を集めるようになった。日本商品の輸出増加は、総合商社の活動の成果であるとまで評価する声が、外国政府の経済担当者や有識者の間に少なくない。しかし、日本の輸出伸張は総合商社の力によるところが大きかったのか、あるいは逆に日本経済の発展と工業技術の高度化による輸出競争力の向上が総合商社の発展をもたらした要因であったのか、あたかも「ニワトリが先か、卵が先か」の循環論のようにみえる問題である。現実において総合商社は日本経済の発展とともに、一路拡大発展の道をたどってきた。しかし、バブル経済の崩壊と低成長時代を迎え、総合商社は業績低下と採算の悪化により、従来の総花的拡大の路線からの転換を余儀なくされている。各商社とも不採算部門からの撤退と重点部門の絞り込み、本社機能のスリム化など、リストラクチャリングを急いでいる。この背景としては、バブル期における不動産投資など、リスクが大きい投資・金融部門が肥大化した反面、本来の輸出入貿易に果たす商社機能が低下するという事実があるものと考えられる。今後、日本経済の内外にわたって、幾多の曲折と波乱が予想されるおりから、総合商社のあり方は、資源開発、環境問題、大型国際プロジェクトの調整等に重心をかけていくことになろう。

［御園生等・森本三男］

『曽我信孝著『総合商社とマーケティング――'80年代後半の戦略転換』（1992・白桃書房）』▽『中谷巌編著『商社の未来像』（1998・東洋経済新報社）』▽『河村幹夫・林川真善著『総合商社ビッグバン』（1999・東洋経済新報社）』▽『島田克美・黄孝春・田中彰著『総合商社――商権の構造変化と21世紀戦略』（2003・ミネルヴァ書房）』▽『岩谷昌樹・谷川達夫著『総合商社――商社機能ライフサイクル』（2006・税務経理協会）』