It looks like you're using an ad blocker.

To enjoy our content, please include The Japan Times on your ad-blocker's list of approved sites.

Thank you for supporting our journalism.

  • PRINT SUBSCRIBERS |
  • SUBSCRIBE |
  • Login
  • My Account
weather icon

11

CLOUDY

TOKYO (8 p.m.)

TODAY'S PRINT EDITION

The Japan Times

trading houses

  • Login
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • My Account
  • PRINT SUBSCRIBERS ≫
  • (FREE ARTICLE)
  • MENU
  • Search
  • News
  • Opinion
  • Life
  • Community
  • Culture
  • Sports
  • City Guide
  • Support
  • Search
  • News
    • National
    • World
    • Business
    • Asia Pacific
    • Reference
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Commentary
    • Reader Mail
    • Cartoons
  • Life
    • Travel
    • Digital
    • Food & Drink
    • Environment
    • Style & Design
    • Language
    • Lifestyle
    • People
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • Community
    • Voices
    • Issues
    • Our Lives
    • Event listings
    • How-tos
    • Columns
  • Culture
    • Film
    • Music
    • Art
    • Stage
    • Events
    • Festivals
    • Books
    • TV
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • Sports
    • Rugby
    • Baseball
    • Soccer
    • Basketball
    • Sumo
    • Figure Skating
    • Tennis
    • More Sports
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • City Guide
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • Support
    • About us
    • Faqs
Buffett-led share price boom short-lived for most Japan trading firms

Business / Financial Markets Oct 13, 2020

Buffett-led share price boom short-lived for most Japan trading firms

by Gearoid Reidy, Shoko Oda and Stephen Stapczynski

The August announcement, among the largest investments ever made by Buffett in Japan, boosted investor interest in the trading companies.

A bubble scarier than big tech is brewing in China

Commentary / World Sep 9, 2020

A bubble scarier than big tech is brewing in China

by Shuli Ren

Much as Beijing has advocated investing in young hard-tech stocks, professionals are still apprehensive.

Berkshire Hathaway takes stakes topping $6 billion in Japan's top five trading companies

Business / Corporate Aug 31, 2020

Berkshire Hathaway takes stakes topping $6 billion in Japan's top five trading companies

by Katherine Chiglinsky and Stephen Stapczynski

Shares in the trading houses leaped on news of the foray, one of billionaire Warren Buffett's biggest in Asia’s second-largest economy.

Itochu raises stake in FamilyMart to 65% via tender offer

Business / Corporate Aug 25, 2020

Itochu raises stake in FamilyMart to 65% via tender offer

The move will allow the trading firm to begin delisting the convenience store operator from the first section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange and take it private.

Japanese trading giant Itochu edges traditional rivals by shunning energy and metals

Business Aug 20, 2020

Japanese trading giant Itochu edges traditional rivals by shunning energy and metals

by Masumi Suga

Itochu is shattering the old pecking order led by Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo by extending its lead as the nation's most valuable trader.

Business / Corporate Apr 26, 2019

Trading house Sumitomo to manage Japan-financed special economic zone near Dhaka

Major trading house Sumitomo Corp. will manage a special economic zone financed by Tokyo and expected to open near the Bangladesh capital, Dhaka, in early 2022, according to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), the government's development aid arm. Land reclamation for the economic zone ...

Itochu wins bigger stake in sportswear-maker Descente in rare hostile takeover for Japan

Business / Corporate Mar 15, 2019

Itochu wins bigger stake in sportswear-maker Descente in rare hostile takeover for Japan

Trading house Itochu Corp. said Friday it has increased its stake in major sportswear-maker Descente Ltd. to 40 percent, succeeding in what, for Japan, was a rare hostile takeover bid. The two firms with over 50 years of business ties were drawn into a takeover ...

<I>Sōgō shōsha</I>: Adapting to stay ahead as industries evolve

Business | INSIDER REPORT Dec 25, 2018

Sōgō shōsha: Adapting to stay ahead as industries evolve

by Patrick Ryan

The sōgō shōsha's longevity, up until this point, can to a certain extent be attributed to their adeptness in being able to rapidly acclimate themselves to the changes in the business and economic environment over the years. By moving quickly and being flexible, the ...

Global challenges lie ahead as <em>sōgō shōsha</em> hunt for growth

Business | INSIDER REPORT Dec 17, 2018

Global challenges lie ahead as sōgō shōsha hunt for growth

by Patrick Ryan

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 ...

Diversification, integration and the roles of trader and investor

Business | INSIDER REPORT Dec 10, 2018

Diversification, integration and the roles of trader and investor

by Patrick Ryan

There are some who have explained, in somewhat academic terms, the sōgō shōsha's upstream-downstream integration process by dividing it into two concepts: "diversification" and "integration." Weight of nontrading roles Simply, what is occurring is the business divisions' units are applying and combining such nontrading functions as ...

Adapting to new industries, bolstering world's infrastructure

Business | INSIDER REPORT Dec 3, 2018

Adapting to new industries, bolstering world's infrastructure

by Patrick Ryan

The ability of the sōgō shōsha to survive through all the changes and transformations that have taken place over the years can, in many ways, be attributed to their adeptness in recognizing the rise of new industries early on and creating new businesses in ...

<I>Sōgō shōsha</I>: Understanding Japan's super suppliers and distributors

Business | INSIDER REPORT Nov 19, 2018

Sōgō shōsha: Understanding Japan's super suppliers and distributors

by Patrick Ryan

As mentioned before, the sōgō shōsha have two fundamental business models: Their traditional, core business model as trader, supplier, wholesaler and distributor of a vast array of goods and materials upstream and downstream in the supply or value chain, and as an organizer of ...

VIEW OLDER ARTICLES

  • WHAT’S TRENDING
  • EDITORS’ PICKS
  • Japan asks China to stop anal COVID-19 tests on Japanese citizens
    Airport staff members line up to collect novel coronavirus testing kits at Hong Kong International Airport last month.
  • COVID-19 vaccine recipient in Japan dies but connection uncertain
    A medical worker fills a syringe with a dose of the Pfizer-BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine at the Tokyo National Hospital in Kiyose, western Tokyo, on Feb. 17.
  • Japanese, British and Germans oppose holding Tokyo Olympics this year
    A majority of people in Japan, the U.K. and Germany oppose holding the Tokyo Olympics this year, a recent survey shows.
  • Japan travel campaign to remain suspended even after emergency is fully lifted
    The resumption of the Go To Travel campaign, which some experts believe caused the coronavirus to spread nationwide, would come only after preventive measures are taken, officials said.
  • I survived the March 11 tsunami. Here's what it taught me about the people of Tohoku.
    The creeping wave: Residents of Miyako, Iwate Prefecture, watch helplessly as a wave approaches via the Heigawa estuary after the earthquake on March 11, 2011.
  • Ken Watanabe's support for survivors of 3/11 is a 'lifetime's work'

    Thumbnail image
  • Robot pets help ease virus isolation in Japan

    Thumbnail image
  • Tesla demand picks up in Japan following aggressive price cut

    Thumbnail image
  • 'When will it end?': How a changing virus is reshaping scientists’ views on COVID-19

    Thumbnail image
  • 'Everything will be OK': Slain Myanmar teen's T-shirt slogan spurs defiance

    Thumbnail image
COVID-19 banner

PODCAST

  • DEEP DIVE

    Episode 84: Ghosts of the Tsunami — The tragedy at Okawa Elementary School

    LAST UPDATED: Mar 3, 2021

JAPAN NETWORK UPDATES

  • Directory of who’s who in the world of business in Japan

    LAST UPDATED: Jun 8, 2020

    JAPAN NETWORK UPDATES
Return to The Japan Times top page
JT Digital Archives The Japan Times Alpha Jobs Study in Japan JT for Women JT Bookclub Japanese School Directory
  • SUBSCRIBE
  • NEWSLETTERS
  • ePaper Edition
  • News
    • National
    • World
    • Business
    • Asia Pacific
    • Reference
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • Opinion
    • Editorials
    • Commentary
    • Reader Mail
    • Cartoons
  • Life
    • Travel
    • Digital
    • Food & Drink
    • Environment
    • Style & Design
    • Language
    • Lifestyle
    • People
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • Community
    • Voices
    • Issues
    • Our Lives
    • Event listings
    • How-tos
    • Columns
  • Culture
    • Film
    • Music
    • Art
    • Stage
    • Events
    • Festivals
    • Books
    • TV
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • Sports
    • Rugby
    • Baseball
    • Soccer
    • Basketball
    • Sumo
    • Figure Skating
    • Tennis
    • More Sports
    • Columns
    • Multimedia
  • City Guide
    • Restaurants
    • Places
  • Support
    • About us
    • Faqs
  • About us
  • Contact us
  • Privacy Policy
  • Link Policy
  • Reprints
  • FAQs
  • Support
  • Announcements
  • Press
  • Sitemap
  • Advertise

The Japan Times LTD. All rights reserved.

The Japan Times