Berkshire signals decades-long commitment to Japan’s five major trading houses, lifting shares

Japanese trading house stocks rose on Thursday after Berkshire Hathaway CEO Greg Abel said the company plans to keep its stakes in the five major Japanese trading firms for decades. The group was among the top-performing segments within the Tokyo Stock Exchange Price Index, with Mitsubishi Corp. climbing as much as 4.5%, its highest level since May. Sumitomo Corp., Mitsui & Co., Itochu Corp. and Marubeni also gained more than 2.5% each. Berkshire currently owns about 10% of each of the five companies. In a CNBC interview on Wednesday, Abel, who succeeded Warren Buffett as chief executive in January this year, described the positions as a long-term investment. Since Berkshire disclosed the holdings in 2020, the trading houses’ share prices have drawn support from their association with Buffett. A market analyst at Tokai Tokyo Intelligence Laboratory said Abel’s renewed expression of confidence could revive investor buying interest in the sector.