2023 Fiscal Year Final Research Report

Colonial governance and accounting - with a focus on the management of phosphate mining operations in the South Sea Islands

Research Project

PDF

Project/Area Number	19K13874
Research Category	Grant-in-Aid for Early-Career Scientists
Allocation Type	Multi-year Fund
Review Section	Basic Section 07100:Accounting-related
Research Institution	Hiroshima University of Economics
Principal Investigator	Sumi Yuta 広島経済大学, 経営学部, 准教授 (00824351)
Project Period (FY)	2019-04-01 – 2024-03-31
Keywords	南洋拓殖株式会社 / 南洋興発株式会社 / 南洋群島 / 原価管理 / 燐鉱事業 / 製糖事業 / 財務報告
Outline of Final Research Achievements	This research aims to deepen understanding of cost control (or cost accounting) in organisations and accounting in colonial governance, with a focus on the South Seas Colonisation Company (Nanyo Takushoku Kabushiki Kaisha), which played an important role in the governance of the South Sea Islands. In particular, we are able to shed light, albeit partially, on how cost accounting was practised in the South Seas Colonisation Company. The accounting information has also made it possible to identify the actual management of phosphate mining in the South Seas Colonisation Company. Furthermore, we are able to provide an overview of how the phosphate mining business developed during the period of German and Japanese governance and, in particular, how the business performance of the phosphate mining business changed over time.
Free Research Field	会計学，会計史，経営史
Academic Significance and Societal Importance of the Research Achievements	戦前日本における原価管理実践，とりわけ，植民地統治で役割を果たしていた企業における原価管理については，これまで十分に明らかにされてこなかった。本研究を通じて，南洋群島における諸企業の原価計算実践を，一部ではあるものの，具体的に明らかにすることで，そのギャップを埋めることができたと考えられる。戦前日本における植民地統治においては，会計というツールが当然のように利用され，社会に埋め込まれ，そして南洋群島経営のマクロ的側面を支えていたと考えられるが（角 [2018] 176頁），南洋拓殖株式会社を中心とした新たなケースを蓄積することができたと考えられる。