What is commercial capital? Japanese contributions to Marxian market theory

This article deals with the Japanese contributions to the Marxian theory of commercial capital, which can be originally found in Part 4 of Capital Vol. 3. This part was formerly considered important for developing the historical development of capitalist society in Japan, which is called the stages theory. From the 1980s to the 2000s, Shigekatsu Yamaguchi led the Japanese studies on the Marxian theory of commercial capital to reorganise the theory in Parts 4 and 5 of Capital Vol. 3, thereby pioneering the theoretical study of the capitalist market. Based on that development, we discuss the reconstruction of the relationship between the theory of the capitalist market and the stages theory, thereby illustrating a renewed and clearer understanding of the historical trajectory of capitalism.