著者

宇多 正

出版者

社会経済史学会

雑誌

社會經濟史學 (ISSN:00380113)

巻号頁・発行日

vol.39, no.2, pp.121-147, 1973-06-25

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Considerably left behind European Powers and United States, Meiji Japan direted her course towards a capitalistic state, and was going to enter into Chinse colonial market. However, since the most powerful capitalists (Zaibatsu groups) hesitated the investment abroad for its riskfulness, Japanese Governement was obliged to import foreign capitals for the purpose of propulsion the capital export to China which was more necessary for national profits after the Shino-Japanese War (1894-1895). Winning the Russo-Japanese War (1904-1905), Japan openly started to coionize Manchuria, and established the South Manchuria Railway Company (Mantetsu) for smooth colonization under the new international balance of powers. It was nothing but 'civil-defence' advocated by Shimpei Goto who was the first president of Mantetsu. Mantetsu was a mammoth enterprise, composed of railway, coal-mining, iron-manufacture, electric work, hotel, local administrative institutions and research organizations. Besides, it directly conducted over seventy companies of commerce, industry or service, therefore it was named 'Mantetsu-Konzern'. It was de facto State enterprise, in other words, a substitute of Japanese Government. Charged with the important political functions to obtain the substantial hegemony on Manchuria, it was often operated passing over cal-culation, for example, the repeated loans in order to railway-construction for Chinese Government. Unfortunately, before long, the aggravation of international relations, especially the tension among the Easten Asia and the difficulties in domestic society drived Japan into the military adventure in Manchuria. Pushing away Mantetsu, Kwantung Army was thereafter executing the plan for 'military-defence' as a new controller of Manchuria. With its support, was soon founded Japanese puppet state 'Manchukuo', and established Manchuria Heavy Industries Development Company (Manshu Jukogyo) with the object of heavy-industrialization of Manchuria. On the other hand, Mantetsu was reduced to the original system centering traffic business. However, the interdependence organization between Japan and Manchukuo was finally broken by the extraordinary enlargement of war situation around Eastern Asia. In brief, the curse of Japanese capitalism operating upon Manchuria was very strategically directed through the influences of the Korean domination that was in more close connexion with Japan herself and the international balance of powers.