I was hired to photograph the interiors of the offices of the Nissho Iwai American Corporation (NIAC) in Rockefeller Center NYC back around 1989. At the time it was a huge Japanese corporation; I was hired by their interior design contractors to document the interiors, which were quite impressive and beautiful. I thought I'd check RU-vid to see if there was any info on this company, but I've found very little. Nothing is constant except change...
Thank you so much for this vid ! Can you make deep dive video about Mizuho, Nomura Group or smt intriguing like JIP (Japan industrial partners), or any similar giants.
Could have talked more about the companies (given examples) and their businesses and how it helped/impacted Japan. Much of the discussion was generalized.
This is an interesting topic, but I still don't know what these companies are. 'They are like trading companies in other countries, but they are unlike trading companies in any other countries. They're much bigger and more powerful and played a role in Japan's development that no other trading companies played in their respective countries. Their activities span far and wide by geography and industry.'
Let me give you a short summary explanation: The Sogo Shosha companies (mainly Mitsubishi, Marubeni, Itochu, Mitsui & Sumitomo) historically took on roles that in Western countries were filled by the government. They didn't just trade; they plan and built infrastructure, fostered industries, and even helped formulate economic policy in Japan, often acting as extensions of government objectives during Japan's rapid post-war economic rise. Their influence was felt in the legal realm as well, where they could essentially write rules of engagement for entire sectors. Looking at developing economies today, conglomerates like Vingroup in Vietnam and Tata in India are following a somewhat similar path. These companies are more than just business entities; they're integral to their nation’s infrastructure, growth, and global integration. They're building cities, redefining industries, and sometimes even stepping in where public services are lacking.
I have long wondered what the impact of the 1st Iraq War was on the Japanese economy. I remember that the Financial Times wrote soon afterwards that Japan had been producing 7× a unit of GDP as the US at the war's beginning. My sense has always been that the war made Japan's efficiency irrelevant while triumphalists went out and bought Hummers. 🕊
How should we categorize these other Japanese firms: Nikon, Canon, Toshiba, Fast Retailing (Uniqlo), Honda, Kawasaki, IHI Corp, Takeda, Screen Holdings, Hitachi, Komatsu, Nippon Steel Group, Asahi Glass
I can see the value of these companies in the immense amount of data accumulated inside and outside of Japan over the years. Data on the economy and society, government and private, financial and industrial etc. Efficiency and profitability could increase in the future by implementing new operative models for business, government and the aging society if they can fully digitalize those data and get AI to work with it for innovation.
