Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (三井物産) is one of the largest sogo shosha (general trading companies) in Japan; it is part of the Mitsui Group.

History

The company was established in 1876 with 16 members, including the founder, Takashi Masuda. By the end of World War II, it had become a dominant trading giant, but was dissolved by the order of GHQ. The current Mitsui & Co. was established in 1947 as Daiichi Bussan Kaisha, Ltd. (First Bussan Corporation Ltd.). In 1959, it merged with several other trading companies and changed its name to Mitsui & Co., Ltd. During Japan's period of rapid postwar economic growth, the firm was a key player in several major natural resources projects. In 1971, it took a stake in an offshore gas field near Das Island in Abu Dhabi, which supplies liquefied natural gas to Japan on an exclusive basis; it invested in a major Western Australian LNG project in 1985 and in the Sakhalin II project in 1994. Its subsidiary Mitsui Oil Exploration's MOEX Offshore had a 10% stake in the Deepwater Horizon well in the Gulf of Mexico through a subsidiary, and in May 2011, MOEX agreed to pay US$1.07 billion to settle BP claims against it over the explosion and oil spill at the well. Some analysts had thought BP would realize a larger settlement from MOEX, but there was also relief to have a first step toward resolving the multiple claims. Berkshire Hathaway acquired over 5% of the stock in the company, along with four other Japanese trading houses, over the 12-month period ending in August 2020.

Business areas

Mitsui engages in six major business areas:

Recent activities

Group Companies

Steel Products Division Metal Resources Division Project Division Mobility Division 1 Mobility Division 2 Basic Materials Division Performance Materials Division Nutrition & Agriculture Division Energy Division 1 Energy Division 2 Energy Solutions Division Food Division Distribution Division Healthcare Services Division ICT Division Corporate Development Division Americas Division Europe, Middle East, and Africa Division Asia and Oceania Division Others