MONOPOLIES GROW IN JAPAN by a special correspondent
There is a growing concentration of capital in Japan which is bringing in its wake important changes in class structure. The paper Sankei Shimbun, in February, reported that the number of small businesses taken over by ‘bigger ones had risen from 440 in 1960 to 715 in 1962. Between April, 1963, and January this year 779 such firms were taken over, and it is expected that the figure will exceed 900 by March which will be more than double the 1960 figure. According to the Japanese journal, Tho Hconomist, most of the firms have had a capital of less than 5 million yen (less than £5,000).
The process has been most marked in shipbuilding. To increase the competitive position of the industry the Government is giving a subsidy of 10,000 million yen (nearly £10 million) in the present financial year. This is over 4 and half times last year's figure. To encourage concen tration, the Government is confining the subsidy to the 6 biggest combines, These have been formed out of 95 smaller firms. Danks are also merging. The Japanese journal, Diamond, reported that the Sumitomi bank is to merge with Kawawuchi bank. This follows the merger of the Daiichi and Asahi banks, Thus 4 of the biggest banks have merged into 2 units.
The anti-monopoly laws are no longer enforced. According to official statistics, cartels have been formed in 283 trades. The Economist has remarked that 2 or 3 years ago there wre not more than 4 Japanese concerns which ranked among the biggest in the capitalist world but today there are 14. On the other hand small firms are in a _precarious posi=— tion. In January this year there were 198 cases of bankruptcy with a total debt of 28,200 million yen (over £27 million), The Goverment's tight money policy and the various regulations under the small business basic law and the small business modernisation law have greatly contributed to this process.
' The concentration of capital has produced changes in class struct= ure. According to Government statistics, the number of capitalists and landlords rose from 800,000 to 860,000 between 1959 and 1962. In the same period the number of petti bourgeoisie shrank from 21,750,000 to 19,440,000, whilst the number of workers rose from 20,540,000 to nearly 24 million. Thus the working class now forms the majority of the work— ing population. Although more than half the workers still work in small or mediumentorprises the proportion employed in big firms is increasing.
In the countryside the decrease in the number of peasants accounted for most of the decline in the number of potti bourgeoisie, the number declining from 14,500,000 in 1959 to some 12 million in 1962. The composition of the peasantry has also changed, in this period the percentage of poor peasants rose from 65% to 7%; that of the middle peasants dropped from 30% to 20%; and that of the rich peasants remained at 5%. As can been seen the decline of the middle peasants was very big,from 4,350,000 to 2,410,000, i.e., nearly a 50% decrease within 3 years. Other important changes were the increase the number of very rich from 12,000 to 15,000 and an increase in the armed forces from 280,000 to 430,000, in the last three years.