Abstract
The purpose of this article is to examine the activities of the Toyo Chisso Corporation, a firm that was created by several companies to produce ammonium sulfate using the Haber-Bosch process, which the Japanese government had claimed as an enemy asset in 1917. Although this firm continued to exist until 1947, it never produced ammonium sulfate. What then did the firm do? In briefest terms, the firm was a cartel of Japanese chemical companies with two major roles. One of the roles was to control the quantity of German ammonium sulfate. Toyo Chisso ran a dealership for German ammonium sulfate so this cartel was able to control the flow of German ammonium sulfate into the Japanese market. A second role was monopolistic control over manufacturing technology. This cartel held the patent right to the Haber-Bosch process in Japan, and collected royalties from imported ammonium sulfate from Germany. Moreover, the cartel accumulated royalties (internal reserves), which were used to make direct investment in outsiders. Therefore, the coordination system was constructed between the member companies of Toyo Chisso and outsiders.
