What Warren Buffett sees in Japan
Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway group has spent $6bn on stakes in five Japanese trading houses, despite other investors souring on the world’s third-biggest economy.

Not for the first time, Warren Buffett is swimming against the tide, says Mike Bird in The Wall Street Journal. Early this month his Berkshire Hathaway group spent $6bn acquiring stakes in five Japanese trading houses. Yet data shows that other foreigners have been souring on the world’s third-biggest economy.
However, Shinzo Abe, who took office in 2012 and has just resigned, leaves Japan’s markets better than he found them, says The Economist. Lower corporate taxes and a depreciating yen gave a much-needed boost to shaky corporate profits, while reforms to corporate governance have made Japanese managers more responsive to the needs of shareholders. The Topix index has gained more than 82% since he took office. Reforms in Japanese markets have been overshadowed by the dominance of US-listed tech stocks, says Andrew Bary in Barron’s. The country is “more like Germany than the US”, explains Masakazu Takeda of Sparx Asset Management. Japan’s real speciality is its “high-quality industrial businesses”, such as carmaker Toyota and air conditioning supplier Daikin Industries.
The dominance of these sectors has fed a perception that Japan is not a “sexy” investment, Nicholas Weindling of the JPMorgan Japanese investment trust tells Jeff Prestridge in The Mail on Sunday. But there are plenty of exciting growth companies. GMO Payment Gateway, an electronic payment specialist, and robotics business Keyence offer exposure to key secular growth trends. Moreover, on a cyclically adjusted price/earnings ratio of 19.4 the market looks reasonably valued. For British income seekers weary of the FTSE dividend axe, a 2.4% average dividend yield backed up by robust balance sheets looks especially appealing.
MoneyWeek
Subscribe to MoneyWeek today and get your first six magazine issues absolutely FREE

Sign up to Money Morning
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Don't miss the latest investment and personal finances news, market analysis, plus money-saving tips with our free twice-daily newsletter
Get the latest financial news, insights and expert analysis from our award-winning MoneyWeek team, to help you understand what really matters when it comes to your finances.
Alex is an investment writer who has been contributing to MoneyWeek since 2015. He has been the magazine’s markets editor since 2019.
Alex has a passion for demystifying the often arcane world of finance for a general readership. While financial media tends to focus compulsively on the latest trend, the best opportunities can lie forgotten elsewhere.
He is especially interested in European equities – where his fluent French helps him to cover the continent’s largest bourse – and emerging markets, where his experience living in Beijing, and conversational Chinese, prove useful.
Hailing from Leeds, he studied Philosophy, Politics and Economics at the University of Oxford. He also holds a Master of Public Health from the University of Manchester.
-
Reeves warned against property tax shake-up – 3 ways it could backfire on first-time buyers
Rachel Reeves reportedly has her eye on high-end property taxes in the upcoming Budget, but there are concerns a shake-up could unintentionally hamper those trying to get on the housing ladder
-
Average Brits want to retire five years before they can – who has the widest retirement gap?
Brits are expecting to work for longer than ever but there are big disparities in the number of extra working years predicted. A small tweak could help close the gap
-
Pierre-Édouard Stérin wants to make France great again
Conservative billionaire Pierre-Édouard Stérin is seeking to lead a political and spiritual renaissance across the Channel. The planning looks meticulous
-
Global investors have overlooked the top innovators in emerging markets
Opinion Carlos Hardenberg, portfolio manager, Mobius Investment Trust, highlights three emerging market stocks where he’d put his money
-
Pinewood Technologies: a drive for growth
Pinewood Technologies’ platform is one of the best in the business. Investors should buy in
-
'EV maker Faraday Future will crash'
Faraday Future Intelligent Electric is failing dismally to live up to its name, says Matthew Partridge
-
Investors should cheer the coming nuclear summer
The US and UK have agreed a groundbreaking deal on nuclear power, and the sector is seeing a surge in interest from around the world. Here's how you can profit
-
8 of the best houses for sale with follies
The best houses for sale with follies in the grounds – from a five-storey Victorian Gothic tower in Tonbridge, Kent, to a former mill in Oxfordshire with gardens that include a folly on an island in a lake
-
A tale of two Reits – why performance matters for valuation
AEW UK and Regional are two Reits that are valued very differently, despite a shared focus on properties outside London
-
Healthcare stocks look cheap, but tread carefully
Shares in healthcare companies could get a shot in the arm if uncertainty over policy in the US wanes, but are they worth the risk?