After much contested debates, the 1997 revision of the Anti-monopoly Law finally lifted the ban on the creation of holding companies for the first time in half of a century. The reason why it took as long as 50 years seems to lie in the Japan-specific historical backgrounds. They are the critical influences of prewar zaibatsu over the postwar economy and the unique understanding about the so-called Konzern (corporate agglomeration).
Theoretically speaking, holding companies have two major functions. Holding companies in Japan, however, have long been regarded as just means of concentrating economic powers. They have been easily associated with prewar gigantic zaibatsu structures, and that is why they had been prohibited such a long time. But nowadays it is important to recognize they have another significant function, that is, the reorganization of corporate internal structures.
This paper intends to survey the prewar debates on holding companies and Konzern as well, pursuing after how the Japan-specific historical backgrounds emerged since the 1930s. This article will also examine how much the second function of holding companies was ignored in the prewar debates.
