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Under the Wings. The zaibatsu already do about as much business as prewar, and their fraternal rivalry has returned with increased force to spur them on to newer fields. Next month. Mitsui will inaugurate the Nippon Atomic Industry Group, jointly set up by 37 Mitsui firms to produce atomic reactors and process atomic fuels. But it is behind Mitsubishi, which set up its atomic combine in 1955. Mitsubishi, while one of the world's biggest shipbuilders, lags behind Mitsui in the petrochemical field, is trying to catch up by building a $25 million petrochemical plant.
Zaibatsu men argue that such industrial concentration became a matter of necessity in postwar Japan. Searching desperately for new export markets, Japan was hobbled by thousands of inefficient little enterprises. Many found it hard to get enough investment funds. Since many of Japan's huge banks were controlled by prewar zaibatsu interests, they tended to favor loans for their dismembered zaibatsu partners. With Allied laws removed, more and more sought protection under the wings of the bigger companies.
The Japanese government has taken no steps to prevent the resurgence of the zaibatsu, partly because they are less alarming in their present form, partly because funds are insufficient to enforce the antitrust laws properly. The zaibatsu themselves are convinced that they are doing Japan a great service. Says Kyubei Tanaka, a managing director of the Mitsui Bank: "I see no reason to be ashamed of being a zaibatsu. Let's face it. The only way Japan can build herself up into a world industrial power is through big, efficient business. We are the new zaibatsu, and that is our job."