BookTitleToyota Tsusho 70-Year History

Summary

Toyota Tsusho 70-Year History

ColumnThe Japanese Government’s Unrealized DesignatedGeneral Trading Company SystemOne of the measures proposed by the government in response to the severerecession after the special procurement boom was the designated general tradingcompany system. The point of this system was to strengthen the structure of majorgeneral trading companies by restricting the sales activities of small and mediumsizedgeneral trading companies. If this system had been adopted, it would havehad a serious impact on Nisshin Tsusho, which was lagging behind in corporateinfrastructure development. Nisshin Tsusho therefore appointed someone in theManaging Office at the Tokyo Branch to gather information, conduct researchactivities, and make approaches to the government and related parties. At theBoard of Directors meeting in April 1955, Nisshin Tsusho discussed specificmeasures such as establishing a local joint venture with Suchin, owner of Thaicompany Visidha Co; establishing a local subsidiary in Los Angeles; setting up anagent in Manila; upgrading overseas offices in Taiwan and Hong Kong to branchoffices; and further developing the wool business.In the end, there was a lot of opposition from various areas, and the designatedgeneral trading company system was not adopted. The Ministry of InternationalTrade and Industry (currently the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry)subsequently submitted a new import/export transaction law to the Diet to createimport/export associations for each region; but this law also was not adopted.Nevertheless, these government initiatives contributed to the acceleration ofToyoda Tsusho’s overseas expansion in the 1960s and beyond.62