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Mitsubishi
"Contributing
to the community through philanthropic activities goes naturally
with contributing through business activities at the Mitsubishi
companies."
Headquarters: Tokyo, Japan
Website: http://www.mitsubishi.com/
Overview
The
Mitsubishi Group consists of more than 160 corporations, employing
over half a million people.
In 1995 the Mitsubishi Corporation,
the group's general trading company or Sogo Shosha, was ranked
by Fortune Magazine as the largest corporation on the
planet, with revenues topping $175 billion.
Mitsubishi is one of the main
companies involved in the current construction of Fast
Breeder Reactors (FBR) Monju and Rokkasho, which are both
reprocessing plants. Thus, Mitsubishi is providing Japan with
the reprocessing technology to make missiles through the extraction
plutonium. Japan, however, does not possess nuclear weapons,
at the moment because Article 9 of their constitution prevents
them from doing so.
Mitsubishi is Japan's number
one defence contractor – no small market, considering
that Japan's "non-offensive" military's budget is already
the world's third largest.
The majority of business involving
Mitsubishi is done on behalf of the Japan Defence Agency,
with such projects as the F-2 close support fighter, which
is being developed in conjunction with Lockheed
Martin as a successor to the F-1 fighter.
Mitsubishi has its head office
in Tokyo with 32 other locations in Japan. It
has offices in Mexico, China, Indonesia, Taiwan and India
with representatives in South America, Moscow, Istanbul, Pursan,
Bangkok and Ho Chi Min City, with dozens of overseas subsidiaries.
Mitsubishi won the
CorpWatch Greenwash award of the Month in 1995 as The
Most Environmentally Destructive Corporate Force on Earth.
CorpWatch
quarterly Greenwash Award goes to the Mitsubishi Group
of Companies for its ceaseless efforts to portray its various
businesses--some of the most destructive on earth--as environmentally
friendly.
Nuclear
IndustryMitsubishi has been engaging in nuclear
business for more than three decades. Since commencing
research into and devleopment of nuclear power generation
in the 1950s, Mitsubishi has taken part in the design, manufacture
and construction of a large number of very successful power
plants. An extensive nuclear plants manufacturer within
Japan, Mitsubishi is engaged in the supply of fuel cycle-related
equipment and the implementation of research and development
programs. These include ways of storing spent nuclear fuel
and the development of
new types of nuclear power plants like the fast breeder reactor,
the high temperature gas cooled reactor, and the nuclear fusion
reactor. Thus, Mitsubishi activities lie in close proximity
to the manufacturing of nuclear weapons. They have been directly
involved with manufacturing missiles and nuclear energy using
plutonium.
Other Dirt
Mitsubishi makes helicopters, rockets, missiles, torpedos,
nuclear power plants, aircraft and military space equipment.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is Japan's number one
ship and rocket builder, gas, oil, coal-fired and nuclear
power plant maker, and heavy machinery producer.
Main Companies
The core Mitsubishi companies are global leaders in most key
economic sectors and are involved in a vast array of activities
ranging from making chopsticks to building sophisticated defence
weaponry and systems.
There are several divisions within the Mitsubishi Corporation.
Many of these Mitsubishi Companies are leaders in their fields
both nationally and internationally. Some of them are: Mitsubishi
Bank, Mitsubishi Chemical, Mitsubishi Oil, Mitsubishi Electric,
Mitsubishi Motors Corporation, Mitsubishi Corporation in
Europe and The Middle East, and Kirin Brewery of America.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd (MHI) is one of the world
leading manufacturers of heavy industry and is working in
several areas incuding, nuclear power, machinery, defense,
civil aircraft, and space related business. MHI is located
in Tokyo, Japan. It is active in efforts to export nuclear
power materials to Asia. Mitsubishi has exported a pressure
vessel to China's Qinshan nuclear plant and
has supplied a turbine for Taiwan's No.4 (Lungmen) Nuclear
Plant.
MHI includes several smaller subdivisions which are divided
into more concentrated groups. For example, Mitsubishi Nuclear
Fuel Co. is concerned with the manufacture of nuclear fuel.
The Nuclear Development Corporation does research and
development on fuel and fuel cycle. These two related companies
and others from the Mitsubishi Nuclear Organization, which
is one of Japan's leading nuclear power providers.
Mitsubishi
Patnerships
For the purpose of expanding business and widening the product
line-up, Mitsubishi have "aggressively" made alliances with
other companies. In the aerospace department, they exchanged
memorandums in May 2000 with the Boeing Company so that they
can establish a relationship in more areas, agreeing to strengthen
the relationship concerning the operation and utility of the
International Space Station.
Mitsubishi Heavy Industries is the key Japanese industry
participant in developing a sea-based theater missile defense
system that Washington and Tokyo agreed to research in mid-August
of 1999. This system's intended use will be to detect the
launch of enemy missiles. MHI is working with Raytheon, the
prime contractor for the Navy's Theater Wide system, on this
project. The five-year or six-year transpacific project will
focus on an improved version of the SM-3 missile used in the
U.S navy's Theatre Wide missile defense program. MHI has already
received an $8.3 million U.S. government contract keyed to
Japan's part of the program. Their main role is to develop
various high-tech equipment that will be of use in the missile
defense system. Japan plans to spend $280 million over the
next six years on the project.
Mitsubishi has founded:
- The International Network
for Safety Assurance of Fuel Cycle Industries (INSAF)
- BNFL (including Westinghouse)
- COGEMA, Global Nuclear Fuel
LLC.
- Japan Nuclear Cycle Development
Institute
- Japan Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd.
- Mitsubishi Materials Corporation
- Mitsubishi Nuclear Fuel Co.,
Ltd.
- Nuclear Fuel Industries, Ltd.
Nuclear connections: The Nuclear Energy Systems Headquarters
of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. acts as a focal point
for contact with customers and controls the various nuclear
energy departments of the Mitsubishi Group.
Related Companies are: Nuclear Development Corporation
research & development of fuel and fuel cycle, Mitsubishi
Nuclear Fuel Co., Ltd., Nuclear Power Training Center, Ltd,
Nuclear Plant Service Engineering Co., Ltd.
Mitsubishi is involved with the Japan Nuclear Cycle Development
Institute (JNC). There has been a high percentage of temporary
transfers of employees from Mitsubishi to JNC.
This research and
report was prepared by Mikele Aboitiz, Sheri Gibbings, and
Felicity Hill of Reaching
Critical Will.
Aerospace Contributions
Programs & Products:
Mitsubishi is at the forefront of Japan’s contributions
to weaponizing outer space. In the 1980s, a major aspect of
Japan’s space industry was the development of launch vehicles.
The H-1 was Mitsubishi’s first
rocket launcher, but it included US technology and was thus
was restricted from competing for international launch contracts.
By 2006, Japan’s rocket technology was completely domestic.
Due to its increased fuel capacity, the H-IIB is able to launch
two satellites simultaneously, making it commercially
competitive on the American and Europeon markets.
In late 1998 Japan publicly
announced its plans to develop and deploy a military/intelligence
satellite reconnaissance system. In 2005, nearly one-third
of Japan’s space spending went to developing military
reconnaissance and war fighting satellites manufactured by Mitshubishi.
Third, and fourth generation spy satellites are planned
for launch in 2009 and 2011.
Japan has been keen
to develop a ballistic missile defense system since 1998, when
North Korea “lobbed a suspected long-range missile over
its main island and into the Pacific.” In December
2005, the Japanese government officially approved plans to develop
the joint ballistic missile defense system with the US.
It is estimated
to cost Japan $30-$50 billion total for their share of system;
in 2006 the Japense government put
$26 million towards the project.
The US and Japan are aiming
for the deployment of a joint missile defense shiled by
2010, “combining the land-based Patriot Advanced Capability-3
(PAC-3) and the sea-based Standard Missile-3 systems.”
The Standard Missile-3 is jointly developed by Raytheon and
Mitsubishi, while Mitsubishi is the primary manufacturer in
Japan of the PAC-3 missile. Mitsubishi has also developed
a surface-to-ship missile, air-to-ship missile, and air-to-air
missile, and built a Vertical Launching System for anti-air
and anti-submarine missiles.
In January 2007, the US announced it is seeking Japanese assistance
in developing a laser system aboard military aircraft that can
shoot down missiles right after they are launched. It
named
Mitsubishi as a possibe company to help in such areas as making
the system smaller.
This research and report was
compiled by Ray Acheson of Reaching
Critical Will in February 2007 in coordination with the
Secure World
Foundation.
For More Profiles:
See Mitsubishi's PDF
Dirty Dozen profile.
Alliant Techsystems
BAE Systems
Bechtel Corporation
Boeing
British Nuclear Fuels (BNFL)
General Dynamics
IBM
Lockheed Martin
Northrop Grumman
Raytheon
Siemens
University of California
Dirty Dozen Annex
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