The export of soybeans to Germany started before the First World War, and more than 80–90 percent of soybean and soybean oil exports went to Europe in the 1930s. About two-thirds of the total went to Germany. These deals were handled primarily by Mitsui Bussan (Mitsui & Co.) and Mitsubishi Shoji.¹⁶ Germany was not only the leading European market for unprocessed soybeans, it was the ultimate controller of the market in terms of price and size. Thus, German stomachs controlled Manchuria’s nerve center, which was said to have ‘become sensitive to the movement of German clocks.’¹⁷

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