Zaibatsu Corporation

For the vehicle company of a similar name, see Maibatsu Corporation.

Type	GANG
Zaibatsu Corporation
The Zaibatsu Corporation logo.
Group information
Status	Active
Locations	Downtown, Industrial and Residential Districts of Anywhere City (2D Universe) Liberty City (3D Universe)
Leaders	Trey Welsh Red Valdez Uno Carb
Type	Organized Crime Syndicate
Enemies	Rednecks Yakuza Scientists Russian Mafia Hare Krishna Loonies Yutes
Affiliations	Claude Speed
Colors	Black and Gold
Vehicles	Z-Type Unknown white van (GTA2: The Movie)
Businesses	Pharmaceuticals
Fronts	Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, The Village, Chemist, House of Guns, Zaibatsu Power Core, Futuro FM
Members	Trey Welsh Red Valdez Uno Carb Flambo Cortez Sacchmo Doctor Cubana (Formerly) Shady (Formerly) Agent Epsilon Agent Kappa Agent Alpha
Game information
Appearance(s)	Grand Theft Auto 2

The Zaibatsu Corporation (財閥) is a powerful Japanese-American crime syndicate featured throughout Grand Theft Auto 2 and minorly mentioned in Grand Theft Auto III.

History

Founded as early as 2001 in Liberty City, Zaibatsu hide behind the guise of a pharmaceutical company that  manufactures a wide array of products and distributes them in both Liberty and Anywhere City as of 2013. They also have a website, which describes them as "the world's last major privately owned corporation".

In reality, they are a powerful conglomerate in the criminal underworld of the United States that runs both legitimate and illegal businesses, and are more than willing to eliminate anyone that obstructs their goals. By 2013, they have gone so far as to employ countless armed thugs to fight a massive, bloody turf war with the other gangs of Anywhere City in all three of its main districts.

Members of the Zaibatsu Corporation, or "Z-Men", are known to wear black or dark grey suits (in the Game Boy Color port of GTA 2, they also appear to sport white headwear, possibly hats or helmets) and drive customized Z-Type cars with a black color scheme and the organization's golden (white in the GBC port) "Z" symbol painted on the roof.

Grand Theft Auto III

While members of the Zaibatsu Corporation never physically appear in-game nor are any buildings explicitly identified as being their property, they are mentioned in commercials advertising their latest medical product, which is distributed from Zaibatsu Pharmaceuticals, their pharmaceutical arm. A Liberty Tree article also describes the company as being "Liberty City's very own Zaibatsu Corporation", indicating that Zaibatsu was founded in Liberty.

Grand Theft Auto 2

They appear frequently throughout the entire game, as their presence can be seen and felt in all three districts of Anywhere City. They became embroiled into a violent struggle over control of business interests and gang territories with all other gangs in Anywhere City during the period of which Grand Theft Auto 2 is set in.

The following gangs that contests the control by the Zaibatsu Corporation are: Yakuza, the Rednecks, the Scientists, the Loonies, the Hare Krishna, and the Russian Mafia. They were presumed to be the most powerful criminal organization of all in Anywhere City during the time of Grand Theft Auto 2. The top-ranking leaders of the Zaibatsu Corporation frequently refer to Claude Speed by the nickname they gave him, "Gecko".

GTA 2: The Movie

In the film/movie rendition of Grand Theft Auto 2, Claude is shot dead by a Zaibatsu assassin sent to avenge for his theft of Zaibatsu merchandise.

Products of Zaibatsu

Advertised:

• Zoom Zoom - Energy stimulant.
• Silky Milky - Breast implants that "feel and taste like the real thing".
• Doesn't Need Anything (DNA) - Baby food.
• Hush - Self-reliant sedative.
• Equanox - Alertness pills (advertised in GTA III).

From their in-game car crushing / manufacturing plant:

• Medicine.
• Body armour.
• Weapons.

Electricity:

• Zaibatsu owns the electrical power stations in Anywhere City.

Gallery

180px-Zaibatsu corporation1.jpg

The Zaibatsu Corporation Symbol (Original)

180px-Zaibatsu corporation1 white.jpg

The Zaibatsu Corporation Symbol (White)

Z-Type, the gang car of Zaibatsu Corporation

Members of the Zaibatsu Corporation hanging around Zarelli.

Unknown gang unused in the final version of GTA III, possibly Zaibatsu members.

Zaibatsu posters (right) in Chinatown district; removed from final version.

Trivia

• "Zaibatsu" or "財閥" in Japanese, means financial clique, which is inappropriate for a company name because it is a type of a business. However this might be an oversight of a Rockstar lacking knowledge about Japan.
• Once the player reaches the Industrial District, the tutorial NPC erroneously mentions them as the "Zaibatatsu".
• Despite having appeared in only one game, the Zaibatsu are very popular among fans of the early GTA games, and tributes to them have been made in form of mods and fan art. Rockstar Games even added a Z-Type in GTA V to pay tribute to them.
• The Zaibatsu Corporation exists in both the 2D Universe and the 3D Universe, though little has been revealed about the incarnation from the 3D Universe.
  • The Zaibatsu Corporation is one of three criminal organizations from the 2D Universe to be carried over to the 3D Universe, the other two being the Yakuza and the Russian Mafia. However, they are also the only one of the three whose members have never made a physical appearance in-game nor display any real evidence of conducting criminal activities. This is a complete contrast from GTA 2, where they are the most prominent gang in the entire game.
• It is interesting to note how prominent the Zaibatsu Corporation is in GTA 2, yet are only briefly mentioned in radio advertisements and Liberty Tree articles in GTA III. Assuming Zaibatsu's history in either game is compatible with the other, it is likely that either Zaibatsu was a legitimate business in 2001 (when GTA III is set) before being converted into a crime syndicate by 2013 (when GTA 2 is set), or were already conducting criminal activities in 2001 but were not openly revealed to be doing so until some point during the twelve-year gap.
• Interestingly enough, after Radio Za-Za!, the Zaibatsus start listening to Lithium FM, which is the radio station of their rivals, the Loonies.
• Strangely, apart from the presence of the Z-Type in GTA V, no mention is made of the Zaibatsu Corporation in the HD Universe. This means that either Zaibatsu is non-existent in that continuity, or they completely relocated themselves to Anywhere City between 2001 and 2008 (due to being remarkably absent from their native Liberty City in Grand Theft Auto IV, its episodes, and Grand Theft Auto: Chinatown Wars).
• Screenshots of the alpha version of GTA III, such as this one show that posters and crates with Zaibatsu's symbol were to appear in the Chinatown district of Portland Island. It is possible that the Zaibatsu Corporation was intended to play a larger role in the early stages of the game. In addition, an unidentified gang was also shown in early screenshots of the game, inhabiting the same general area. Whether or not this gang was meant to be the Zaibatsu Corporation or simply an early version of another gang (since the Liberty City Triads and Diablos inhabit the areas taken by this gang in the final version) is unknown.