In 1954 the new Mitsubishi Shoji was founded, and that same year was listed on both the Tokyo and Osaka stock exchanges. In 1967, the company announced its first management plan, and in 1968, in response to its expanding organizations and businesses, introduced its Business Division System. Also that year, the company committed to a large project in Brunei to develop LNG (liquefied natural gas). This was its first large-scale investment, and was undertaken to help secure a stable supply of energy to Japan. Not content with mere trade-based activities, the company began expanding its development and investment-based businesses on a global scale, as evidenced by iron-ore and metallurgical coal projects in Australia and Canada, and salt field business in Mexico. In 1971, the company made "Mitsubishi Corporation" its official English name. Two years later, in 1973, MC established what was ultimately to become its CSR & Environmental Affairs Office, clarifying a firm commitment to CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility).

The Japanese economy entered a recession due to the recent oil shock, meaning MC needed to construct new systems to generate profits. The company began streamlining its established businesses and developing more efficient operations. In 1986 the company firmly entrenched a new policy, shifting its focus from operating transactions to profits. That same year a new management plan was drawn up. The "K-PLAN" placed emphasis on rebuilding commercial rights, selecting key business domains, and developing high "value-added" functions. In 1989, MC was listed on the London Stock Exchange.

With the 1990s came accelerated globalization, and in 1992 MC announced a new management policy: namely to reinvent the company as a "Sound, Global Enterprise." MC began placing greater focus on its consolidated operations and increasing the value of its assets. More efforts were made to globalize the company's operations and its people. Amid uncertainty about Japan's financial system, MC established "MC2000" in 1998. The aim of this new management plan was "Self-reform for the 21st Century." MC2000 introduced a "Select & Focus" approach to business, strengthened strategic fields, and emphasized customer-oriented policies. The new plan was instrumental in shoring up the company's foundations and paving the way to a prosperous future.

In 2001, MC updated its management plan in response to an increasingly global economy. "MC2003" came with a new theme: "Driven to Create Value." The new plan introduced an aggressive new blueprint for growth, involving an expansion of the company's value chains, a strengthening of its profitability, and focused strategies to create new businesses. The same year, the Business Unit (BU) System was introduced to the Business Groups, which clarified the strategic mission of each of their BUs, the smallest units for organizational control and earnings management. Meanwhile, a new standard, MCVA (Mitsubishi Corporation Value Added), was adopted to make performance evaluation more relevant, and the company's business portfolio was reshaped to allocate management resources more appropriately. In 2004, "INNOVATION 2007" was unveiled. This new management plan sought to establish MC as a "New Industry Innovator," with an aim to open up a new era and grow hand in hand with society. In 2007, MC newly established the Business Innovation Group and Industrial Finance, Logistics & Development Group. Then, in 2008, MC announced its latest management plan, "INNOVATION 2009". In April 2009, MC systematically reorganized the Business Innovation Group and established its Corporate Development Section.