Buffett adds to his holdings of Japanese trading houses

Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway has added to its holdings in Japan’s five leading trading houses: Sumitomo, Mitsui & Co, Mitsubishi, Marubeni and Itochu. Berkshire said the purchased stakes were in line with its plan to hold them long-term and increase them to as much as 9.9%. The stakes held now average over 8.5%. The additional purchases highlight the firm’s optimism on Japan’s prospects and their shareholder-friendly corporate governance reforms that have boosted the Nikkei share average, up 28% so far in 2021.