While many global companies, including the sōgō shōsha, face similar political, economic, social, technological, managerial and other risks — much too many to cover here — Japan's nearly complete dependence on natural resource and raw material imports from overseas and its shrinking domestic market are posing some distinctive challenges for the sōgō shōsha.
Dependence on resources
One of these challenges is a byproduct of the sōgō shōsha being resource-starved Japan's primary importer of raw materials and commodities. For many years now, the sōgō shōsha's net earnings have been highly dependent on commodity prices, especially those of metal, mineral and energy resources.