Finance 370 T,Th:1:00-2:15 Dr. Greco Yoshinobu Hasegawa Extra Credits Keiretsu I was born in Japan and I came to the United States when I was nineteen years old. As you discuss in class, Japanese people are very collectivism and I do agree with your opinion. I believe that Keiretsu is a mirror of the Japanese culture. However, Keiretsu represents a special category of cooperative strategy. A Keiretsu is an inter business alliance or enterprise group. Keiretsu exist in a board spectrum of markets, including the capital market, primary good market, and component parts markets. Keiretsu relationships are often cemented by bank ownership of large blocks of stock and by cross-ownership of stock between a company and its buyers and nonfinancial suppliers. Keiretsu executives can also legally sit on each other’s boards and share information and coordinate prices in a closed door meetings of president councils. Thus, Keiretsu are essentially cartels that have the government’s blessing. Not being a market entry strategy per se, Keiretsu participated as an integral role in the international success of Japanese companies. Some of Japan’s largest and efficiently known companies are at the center of Keiretsu. For an example, several large companies with common ties to a bank are the center of Mitsui Group and Mitsubishi Group. These two, together with the Sumitomo, Fuyo, Sanwa, and DKB groups makes up the big six keiretsu. The big six are known as the horizontal keiretsu, since the intra group relationships often involve shared stockholdings and trading relations and they strive for a strong position in each major sector of the Japanese economy. In addition to the big six, several other Keiretsu have formed, between supply and demand, which is called vertical Keiretsu. This Keiretsu is hierarchical alliance between manufactures and retailers. Major companies known for this type of keiretsu are Matsushita, Sony, Toshiba, and Hitachi. Reference: http://www.sjsu.edu/faculty/watkins/keiretsu.htm http://www.answers.com/topic/keiretsu