Warren Buffett
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The lifeline that Warren Buffett just handed to Smith Ishiba is a better time for the tortured Japanese Prime Minister.
It is not surprising that Buffett plans to increase his stake in Berkshire Hathaway among the five most allegorical trading companies in Japan. But the timing of Buffett's “halo effect” on Tokyo stocks – and hopefully, a bigger bet can be made in the card.
The world's most respected value investor began flirting with Asia's second-largest economy in 2020. Buffett announced his first noteworthy Japanese bet. They target the old-fashioned “sogo shosha” trading group, which most global bettors see as corporate dinosaurs.
In fact, Buffett surprised Japan in a crisis where the 19th crisis turned at a higher speed. However, as this flirting approaches the realm of love and love, the troubled government in Isbon will never be happy again.
In recent months, Ishiba's Liberal Democrats have not had much celebration. The economy ended 2024, with inflation exceeding wage gains. Bank of Japan is tightening, shocking a system that has been relying on zero interest rates since 1999. Now, it also introduces voters’ Feb. 7 Dud Ishiba’s minority summit, with U.S. President Donald Trump finally showing up.
Initially, the Ishiba team tried to sell it as a victory. The agreement on Isbon's massive investment in U.S. steel for Nippon Steel proved to be exaggerated. Ditto for Ishiba can lift Japanese automakers out of Trump's anger. Japanese companies are now cracking down on tariffs, even higher taxes than China slaps.
Similarly, former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe claimed that he won the promise from Trump not to enter the Japanese auto industry in 2019, and it was also Kaput. The US-Japan trade agreement signed by the late Shinzo Abe and Trump 1.0 is “based on mutual trust.” Well, not as good as Trump 2.0 Luce's efforts to collect 25% on cars and trucks.
All of these have Ishiba's approval rates decreased to a lower level in the 1930s or 1940s. The ruling's least developed countries hope to get close to July's national elections and 4% inflation slams consumer sentiment.
Enter Buffett, and he gives Tokyo some changes to celebrate. However, here are two important warnings worth pointing out. One is that Buffett's performance is very safe, while actively avoiding the “new Japan” investment the man often calls Japan's Buffett – son of Masayoshi, founder of SoftBank Group – advocated in real time.
Buffett insisted on cash-rich conglomerates, some of which date back to the 1850s, when his son placed Japan's former center in a global AI competition. He conducted a $500 billion AL infrastructure project in the White House on January 21 with Openai’s Sam Altman and Oracle’s Larry Ellison.
The key is not that Buffett has to invest in AI-related companies or adjacent companies. But Japan needs more vibrant disruptive startups that create high-paying jobs and fresh wealth to enhance competitiveness, increase domestic demand and improve living standards. This requires drawing more overseas capital from the largest large amount of funds such as Buffett and his kind.
Buffett is not killing people here, but is going to reappear in the predictable low-risk Japan's Berkshire Hathaway overall. If Buffett was going to spread his wings and start betting on Japanese tech companies, especially in the semiconductor space, then real fireworks and real financial impact would come. Startups that may potentially disrupt rigid, aging economy.
The second warning: Ishiba's party has absolutely nothing to do to inspire the animal spirit of Japan to promote Buffett's animals in the world in order to get bigger in this place.
Even though Buffett's money started to reach his watch, Abe didn't do that from 2012 to 2020. Abe's successor Yoshihide Suga from 2020 to 2021. Ishiba, which was in power in October, did not undergo an economic reform.
Buffett doubled in Japan, providing Ishiba’s team with an opportunity to regain the momentum of reformists. Why not be inclined to Buffett's growing interest in Japanese investment? Although Ishiba's party is participating, why not step up efforts to win more investments at home by the son of the world's most important venture capitalist?
Ironically, Buffett, Japan, has invested a lot in Japan with his son’s $100 billion Vision Fund. In recent years, the son's billions have entered China, India, South Korea, Indonesia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Kenya, Israel and elsewhere to leverage the development of the technology “Unicorn” startup. In Japan, sons tend to invest in small amounts.
There is no better time to change this dynamic than today. But this requires Japanese policymakers to do more than order some adjustments for corporate governance. In order to increase shareholder returns, Shinzo Abe's efforts to diversify the board of directors and increase dividends do pay off.
Last year, they pushed the average of Nikkei 225 stock to an all-time high. But, unfortunately, wealth has not dripped into the average worker.
To make Buffett’s world guarantee and win more cash, Tokyo must reduce bureaucracy, level the playing field, inspire startups to prosper, increase productivity, relax the labor market, and give women the ability to enhance growth and create new wealth to make new Wealth gains new wealth to make important quality the key quality Japanese. You don't need to be Oracle to know that Tokyo's lawmakers are not acting fast enough.
