A lot of companies in Japan have a heavy industries branch or similar. Yamaha has all kinds of verticals as they’re happy to sell you a piano or a motorcycle (or both!)
It’s not so much diversification, but the fact that many of them were zaibatsu, the only ones able to do anything other than farming. They just had a huuuuge head start.
Subaru used to be a part of Fuji Heavy Industries, who actually started out making aircraft. They’ve since been renamed to simply “Subaru Corporation”, apparently.
A lot of companies in Japan have a heavy industries branch or similar. Yamaha has all kinds of verticals as they’re happy to sell you a piano or a motorcycle (or both!)
Major Japanese companies have insane levels of diversification
It’s not so much diversification, but the fact that many of them were zaibatsu, the only ones able to do anything other than farming. They just had a huuuuge head start.
Mitsubishi and it’s offshoots has made everything at one point or another. Paper, drugs, TVs, cars, tanks, planes, submarines…
wind turbines, too.
The term for it is ‘conglomerate’
Subaru used to be a part of Fuji Heavy Industries, who actually started out making aircraft. They’ve since been renamed to simply “Subaru Corporation”, apparently.
https://youtu.be/4tYhl-8g8TU
Hitachi is the best example