Zaibatsu (zye-BAHT-soo) is a large and powerful Japanese business conglomerate, especially in banking. The word is based on the Japanese word for money ("zai") and clan ("batsu").
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After [[Meiji Restoration]] of 1868, Japan saw the rise of several large business enterprises. These enterprises expanded during World War I. Each zaibatsu typically had a single family in control. The Allies ended the zaibatsus after World War II, but many of the individual companies that were part of the zaibatsu continued to survive.