Back to all words

Keiretsu

2 stages from Japanese to English.

Today it means a network of Japanese businesses linked by cross-shareholding and close business ties

Where does the word "keiretsu" come from? It comes from Japanese keiretsu, adopted directly into English (1980s).

keiretsu→keiretsu

Japanese · post-1945

"a network of businesses linked by cross-shareholding"

literally 'series' or 'grouping', naming networks of allied companies that replaced the dissolved zaibatsu

English · 1980s

"a network of interlinked Japanese companies"

borrowed by business writers analyzing Japan's postwar economic structure

Drag to pan · scroll to zoom