By Kosaku Narioka

Japanese trading-house stocks rose sharply after Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway said it raised its holdings in the five major ones.

Mitsui & Co. shares were recently 4.4% higher on Tuesday in Tokyo, Marubeni Corp. was up 4.5%, Itochu Corp. was 4.2% higher, Mitsubishi Corp. was up 4.3% and Sumitomo Corp. was 3.7% higher.

National Indemnity, a wholly owned unit of Berkshire Hathaway, said in regulatory filings on Monday that it raised its stakes in the five trading houses by between 1.0% and 1.7%. It now holds a stake of between 8.5% and 9.8% in the five companies.

Buffett told shareholders in his annual letter in February that Berkshire received the Japanese companies' blessing to increase its stake beyond 9.9% and that Berkshire's shareholders would likely see its ownership of all five Japanese companies increase somewhat over time.

Berkshire began buying shares of the five Japanese trading companies in July 2019. The legendary investor has praised the companies for their use of capital, their management and their attitude toward shareholders.

The Japanese trading houses own or help run a number of businesses in Japan and abroad.

Buffett has said an exception to Berkshire's focus on U.S. investments is its growing investment in Japan. At the end of 2024, the market value of Berkshire's Japan holdings had reached $23.5 billion, he said.

Write to Kosaku Narioka at kosaku.narioka@wsj.com

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

March 17, 2025 20:50 ET (00:50 GMT)

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