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April 01, 2025
 

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TRADING HOUSES

Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
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.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 20, 2020
Japanese trading giant Itochu edges traditional rivals by shunning energy and metals
Itochu is shattering the old pecking order led by Mitsubishi, Mitsui and Sumitomo by extending its lead as the nation's most valuable trader.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 25, 2018
Sōgō shōsha: Adapting to stay ahead as industries evolve
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 sōgō shōsha have been able to...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 17, 2018
Global challenges lie ahead as sōgō shōsha hunt for growth
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...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 10, 2018
Diversification, integration and the roles of trader and investor
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."
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Dec 3, 2018
Adapting to new industries, bolstering world's infrastructure
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 the process, or in applying new technologies...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 19, 2018
Sōgō shōsha: Understanding Japan's super suppliers and distributors
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 large-scale infrastructure...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 12, 2018
Tracing Japan's business giants from the late '80s to the 2000s
In the mid-1980s Japan was considered the most dynamic economy in the world and its manufacturers the most dominant. Japan's GDP growth had averaged around 7 percent per annum for the previous 30 years even with a slight downturn following the first oil shock in the 1970s, and was growing at around 4...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Nov 5, 2018
'Sōgō shōsha': Navigating the changing currents of Japan's industries
The Tokyo Olympics in 1964 marked the emergence of Japan as a consumer economy with the population growing, incomes rising and the economy expanding. In fact, the Japanese economy averaged nearly 10 percent annual growth between 1957 and 1972. Sales of TVs, refrigerators, automobiles, and housing boomed....
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 29, 2018
Sōgō shōsha: Thriving through adversity in postwar Japan
This is the fourth part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 22, 2018
What are the distinguishing features that define a 'sōgō shōsha'?
This is the third part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 16, 2018
Reflecting the nation's history, 'sōgō shōsha' are unique to Japan
The sōgō shōsha's organization and business model is unique to Japan. This is, for the most part, because they are a reflection of Japan's own unique economic development, first during the Meiji Restoration's period of rapid industrialization and commercialization aimed at building a strong military...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / INSIDER REPORT
Oct 10, 2018
Japan's supertraders — a brand unto themselves
This is the first part of a new series of reports written by industry specialists. The first 12 articles are about Japanese general trading companies, or sōgō shōsha.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 15, 2018
Japan's trading houses on the prowl as record earnings boost investment appetite
Domestic trading houses are scouting for assets as they enjoy their best profit outlook in six years, driven by higher prices for commodities from metals and coking coal to oil and natural gas.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2016
Mitsubishi says three years needed for shift away from loss-producing commodities
Japan's biggest-trading house has had its fill of commodities.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2016
Energy rout fells Japan's venerated 'Big Three' trading giants
The energy price collapse is doing in Japan what the Great Depression and two world wars couldn't: put an end to a century of dominance by its three most prestigious companies.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jun 7, 2016
Japan's trading houses trying to beat U.S. to Cuba
Japan's largest trading houses are positioning themselves in Cuba before any easing of U.S. sanctions, seeking opportunities in infrastructure, resources and automobiles as Havana emerges from near-isolation.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 25, 2016
Commodity rout cuts ¥970 billion from Japan's major trading houses
The nation's biggest trading companies, stalwarts of the economy, expect to book combined writedowns of at least ¥970 billion ($8.6 billion) as ill-timed investments in commodities ranging from shale gas to copper mines erode profitability.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

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