Arakawa (FT)

The Arakawa Group (荒川財閥) is one of the largest zaibatsu in the Empire and is one of the largest corporate groups in the Human Sphere. It is part of the informal Group of Ten corporations, the 10 largest corporations in the Human Sphere, and is recognised as the second-largest corporate group in the Empire, behind Mitsuhishi Group.

Like all zaibatsus, the Arakawa group comprises of a holding company, a bank, and various subsidiaries within multiple industries. The major companies of Arakawa include Arakawa Security Group, Arakawa-Yonegawa Banking Corporation, Arakawa Engineering, Arakawa General Trading, Arakawa Defence Manufacturing, Arakawa Heavy Industries, Arakawa Shipping Corporation, General Quantronics, Kiroshi Opticals, Kurikara Robotics, Konpeki Plaza, and Oishinoya Group.

A relative newcomer to the upper echelons of the Imperial megacorporate juggernauts, Arakawa is locked in a fierce rivalry with the Yashiman Five corporations, a dispute often referred to as the "Arakawa Problem" and is so intense in hostility that high-profile assassinations and even armed conflicts occasionally occur. Unlike the Yashiman Five, which have roots and history stretching to Techsurge-era Ordic Yashima and are gripped in Yashiman tradition, Arakawa was founded only about 150 years ago, and the Arakawa family was not part of the Imperial kazoku oligarchy until the ascent of the Arakawa Group, in addition to the characteristic Arakawa willingness to eschew tradition and embrace unorthodox methods. This had bred prejudice and hostility from the Yashiman Five and their controlling families, though Arakawa continues to survive and thrive despite saturated markets and continuous attacks by rival companies.

Arakawa is also in strong competition with the APEX Corporation, which many view as its natural rival in the Southern Sphere's economy, as both corporations have a large focus on similar markets.

History
Arakawa was founded in 100 by Arakawa Sasai, and is still controlled by the Arakawa family. Arakawa primarily deals with banking, manufacturing, general trading, electronics, quantronics, and armed security. It is the fourth-largest in the Yashiman Five and the only one to not have any historical roots to Ordic Yashima. The current CEO of Arakawa is Arakawa Kenichi, the Chairman of the Board is Arakawa Seijiro, and the President is Tanimoto Miki.

The Arakawa Group began as Arakawa Security Services, founded in 155 by Arakawa Sasai in Sayashi Province, Ishigaki, at the time part of the Old Empire. The company expanded slowly, gaining a reputation for providing reliable and well-trained security personnel in Sayashi and even across Ishigaki, though Arakawa Sasai's refusal to expand beyond the security service sector prevented major growth. Following the Empire-Federation War and the victory of the Federation, Arakawa Security continued to operate under the Federation occupation, though had ties to the Imperial Remnants and assisted with smuggling weapons to pro-Imperial rebel groups. In 187, Arakawa Sasai died and passed leadership of the company to his son, Arakawa Seijiro, who was an Imperial Navy veteran of the Empire-Federation War and a staunch Imperial loyalist.

Under Arakawa Seijiro's leadership, the company began expanding into other industries left void by the chaos following the Federation victory, and began increasing its support for the Imperial Remnants, gaining the attention of the Imperial government in exile. Following the War of Imperial Reunification, Arakawa had become a major

Arakawa Security Group
Arakawa Security Group, which was the first company of the Arakawa Group to be founded, remains a distinguished general security and private military corporation. The private military subsidiary, Arakawa Tactical Solutions, is the third-largest private military company in the Southern Sphere, behind Matanza-Armatek and APEX Security Force. Arakawa Security Group's headquarters remain at the original location where Arakawa Sasai started the original business.

Arakawa Security Group has a strong reputation for providing high-quality personal bodyguards and corporate security personnel. State of the art training facilities have been opened across the Empire.

Arakawa-Yonegawa Banking Corporation
Arakawa-Yonegawa Banking Corporation, often referred to as Arakawa Bank, forms the financial core of the Arakawa Group. AYBC is the third-largest bank in the Empire, and the fourth-largest bank in the Southern Sphere. The acquisition of the Yonegawa Bank by Arakawa Seijiro marked the start of Arakawa's ascent into a zaibatsu. The group operates in retail, corporate, and investment banking segment worldwide. It provides financial products and services to a wide range of clients, including individuals, small and medium-sized enterprises, large corporations, financial institutions and public sector entities.

General Quantronics
General Quantronics is a quantronics and electronics development and manufacturing corporation. Headquartered on Frontera, the acquisition of General Quantronics by Arakawa marked the first time a major Imperial conglomerate gained control over a major Federation corporation. This sparked the brief Corporate Confrontation of 185, a quiet but intense corporate war between Federation and Imperial corporations that ended with the assassination of Adler International's president Wolfgang Dornier.

The company is most well known for its series of suTabs, the GQ Sandayu series.

Konpeki Plaza
Konpeki Plaza Hotels & Resorts Corporation is a multinational hospitality company that manages and franchises luxury and business hotels, resorts, and vacation properties across the Human Sphere. As of 304, Konpeki Plaza has over 1 million employees across the Human Sphere, servicing nearly 9,000 properties across 20 brands.

The flagship franchise of the company are the Konpeki Plaza luxury hotels, which can be found in most major cities across the Human Sphere and average between five to seven stars. Other major franchises include Takamagahara Resorts, a chain of integrated luxury holiday resorts; Kiji Hotels, a chain of business hotels mostly found across the Empire; Kuroshita Capsules, a chain of heavily automated capsule hotels for overnight stays; Taka Ryokan, a chain of Yashiman-themed luxury hotels typically found outside of the Empire; Onogoro Holiday Resorts, a company that oversees a series of beach resorts across Onogoro; and others.

The headquarters of the Konpeki Plaza Corporation are located at the actual Konpeki Plaza, in the Kawagishi district of Shinawara City, Eienkyo. Adjacent to the headquarters is the Shinawara Takamagahara, famed for being one of the highest-quality resorts on Eienkyo. The Konpeki Plaza Shinawara, located on the coast near the downtown business district, is also famous throughout the Human Sphere for being possibly the only 10-star hotel in human history.

Oishinoya Group
The Oishinoya Group is a group of international restaurant chains, including Oishinoya, Kudo-Ya, Mori Kawa Umi, El Pollo Rojo, and others.

Arakawa family
The Arakawa family are the owners of the Arakawa Group. Along with the other corporate and political families of the Empire, the Arakawa family are part of the informal oligarchy known as the kazoku. While most of the families that form the kazoku have meticulously-recorded family trees that stretch hundred of years, at the very least back to Techsurge-era Ordic Yashima, the Arakawa family essentially only gained prominence when Arakawa Seijiro pushed the Arakawa Group into the upper echelons of the Imperial corporate hierarchy. They are thus one of the very few individuals and the only family to have joined the kazoku arguably of their own merit, giving them a unique position in Imperial society.

The head of the family is Arakawa Seijiro, who is sustained by cutting-edge technological and biomedical advances at the age of 158, almost forty years more than the contemporary average human lifespan. Maintaining his position as Chairman of the board of directors, Seijiro was instrumental in the diversification of Arakawa Group and its meteoric rise to its powerful position today. Despite his advanced age, Seijiro remains highly intelligent and active, often visiting Arakawa subsidiaries and branch offices across the Human Sphere to provide guidance, and attending board meetings in person. For his personal safety and his near-constant health treatments, however, Seijiro spends the majority of his time in the heavily-defended and secluded Arakawa Estate in Sayashi Province on Ishigaki.

Arakawa Seijiro had two children, Saburo and Fumika. His eldest son, Saburo, followed in his father and grandfather's footsteps and joined the Imperial Navy, serving during the Period of Honourable Resistance. Unlike both of his ancestors he remained a career officer, even serving on the Imperial High Council for a time, until he retired in 259. Reportedly having had a strained relationship with his father, Saburo refused to take over the company and later died in 297.

Arakawa Kenichi is Seijiro's eldest grandson and is the current President of the Arakawa Group. Son of Fumika, he was born in 235 and has been groomed to replace Seijiro for most of his life.