is a Japanese general trading company (sogo shosha) and a core member of the Mitsui Group. For much of the post-war period, Mitsui & Co. has been among the largest of the five great sogo shosha (Mitsui, Mitsubishi, Itochu, Sumitomo, Marubeni) by revenue as well as profits.
Mitsui & Co. was established in 1876 by transferring the staff and assets of Senshu Gaisha, a trading company, to the Mitsui Group. It became the largest textile trader in the 19th century, at a time when textiles were the backbone of Japan's economy. Around that period, the company expanded into trading raw materials, machinery, and arms, gaining significant influence both economically and politically. Deemed a key component of the pre-war regime in Japan, the company was split up as part of the dissolution of the major zaibatsu in the immediate aftermath of the Second World War.
Several trading companies with roots tracing back to the pre-war Mitsui, most notably Daiichi Bussan Kaisha, Ltd., merged to take on the name Mitsui & Co. in 1959. This allowed Mitsui to regain its position as the largest trading house in Japan, but the loss of its Iranian petroleum interests following the Iranian Revolution in 1979 gave Mitsubishi the opportunity to take the lead.
Mitsui & Co. is listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, where it is part of the blue-chip TOPIX Core 30 and the Nikkei 225 indices. It is also known as one of the highest-paying publicly listed employers in Japan. In terms of global recognition, Mitsui & Co. was ranked 121st in the Fortune Global 500, and 108th in the Forbes Global 2000 in 2024.
History
Founding
Origins Mitsui & Co. originated in 1876 when the Mitsui group took over Kaoru Inoue's trading house Senshu Gaisha (先収会社) and appointed Takashi Masuda as manager. Early contracts included a lucrative commission monopoly to market coal from Miike mine, and the firm opened its first overseas office in Shanghai later in 1876 to handle exports. By the mid Meiji period Mitsui & Co. had broadened into rice, tea and raw silk exports, and the import of industrial machinery.
Interwar period
Expansion in textile and machinery As industrial capitalism rapidly progressed around the Sino-Japanese and Russo-Japanese Wars, Mitsui & Co. integrated cotton and silk into its core trading lines and expanded overseas markets in East Asia.
By the early 1910s Mitsui Bussan exported over 20% of Japan’s total raw silk and had become the largest silk exporter domestically and internationally; silk already exceeded 10% of the company’s total trade by that time. The First World War drove a surge in scale: sales rose from c.¥400m pre-war to ¥2.1bn in 1919, with more than 1,000 types of items handled.
Siemens–Vickers scandal
In 1914, the Siemens scandal exposed bribery in naval procurement. The scandal started when it was revealed that Siemens bribed naval officers to win contracts for naval equipment from the Imperial Navy. This led to a large-scale investigation across the navy, and it was eventually exposed that the British builder Vickers and its Japanese agent Mitsui & Co. bribed Naval Officers to win the contract for the battlecruiser Kongō, the last Japanese battleship to be built abroad. Court records and scholarship identify testimony from Mitsui & Co. directors in relation to the Kongō order. The affair triggered the fall of the Yamamoto cabinet.
Post-war period
Dissolution and reformation SCAP (Supreme Commander for the Allied Powers)'s 3 July 1947 directive ordered the dissolution of Mitsubishi and Mitsui trading companies via the Holding Company Liquidation Commission (HCLC). Mitsui Honsha (the holding company of the entire group) itself was wound up in 1946 as part of the same programme. Mitsui's businesses were split among a few successor companies established by its employees. Daiichi Bussan Kaisha, Ltd. (First Bussan Corporation Ltd.) was one of the major ones among them. In 1959, after the end of the Allied Occupation, it merged with several other trading companies also descended from the pre-war Mitsui & Co. and reassumed the name Mitsui & Co., Ltd.
Post-war growth 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:
Energy: Upstream development and trading in oil and gas, the firm's's largest line of business, accounting for over half of its consolidated EBITDA and net earnings in the first half of fiscal year 2015. Mitsui has two major energy projects in the United States, at the Marcellus Shale in the Mid-Atlantic and the Eagle Ford Shale in Texas. Metals: Development and trading with a focus on iron ore and steel. This business accounts for about a quarter of consolidated EBITDA and net earnings. In 2014 Mitsui acquired a stake in the Moatize coal mine and Nacala rail and port development in Mozambique from the Brazilian mining company Vale. Chemicals: basic and performance chemicals including fertilizers, electronics materials and functional materials. Machinery and Infrastructure: Sells, finances and invests in large-scale plants, ships, aircraft, automobiles and other heavy machinery. Lifestyle: food, retail, healthcare, fashion, forestry and real estate. In 2014, CEO Masami Iijima identified this segment as an area of particular interest, particularly in relation to Mitsui's cooperation with Lippo Group in Indonesia. Information and Corporate Development: information technology, finance and logistics.
Criticism Mitsui & Co. has faced criticism for continuing its operations in Russia despite the Russian invasion of Ukraine and the imposition of international sanctions. The Japanese trading giant has maintained its stake in the Sakhalin-2 liquefied natural gas (LNG) project, citing the need to ensure energy supplies to Japan. Mitsui holds a combined 22.5% share in the project, which remains operational under Russian control following the Kremlin's restructuring. Although the company has reduced the book value of its investments due to "growing business uncertainty," it has not fully withdrawn, unlike some Western companies. Mitsui also retains a 10% share in Novatek's Arctic LNG-2 project, despite Japan freezing new investments in the initiative. Critics argue that Mitsui's continued involvement undermines the global effort to isolate Russia economically, indirectly supporting a regime responsible for ongoing war crimes and atrocities in Ukraine.
Group Companies Steel Products Division
Mitsui & Co. Steel Ltd. - Domestic sales and import/export of construction and civil engineering steel materials, steel plates, special steel wire, etc. Regency Steel Asia Pte Ltd - Wholesaling of steel products Bangkok Coil Center Co., Ltd - Sales and processing of steel materials Mitsui & Co. Steeltrade - Trading and domestic sales of steel products Nippon Steel Trading Co., Ltd. (Joint venture with Nippon Steel) - Sales and import/export of steel, machinery/infrastructure, textiles, food, and other products NST Sanko Trading Co., Ltd Shanghai Bao-Mit Steel Distribution Co., Ltd. - Processing and sales of steel products Siam Yamato Steel Co., Ltd. (Joint venture with Daewoo Industries) - Manufacturing and sales of steel products Gestamp 2020, S.L - Investment in automotive press parts business Gestamp NORTH AMERICA, INC. - Automotive press parts business
Metal Resources Division
Mitsui Coal Holdings Pty. Ltd. - Investment in Australian coal-related businesses Mitsui Iron Ore Development Pty. Ltd. - Mining and sales of Australian iron ore Mitsui Iron Ore Corporation Pty. Ltd. - Mining and sales of Australian iron ore Mitsui-Itochu Iron Pty. Ltd. - Mining and sales of Australian iron ore Mitsui & Co. Iron Ore Exploration & Mining Pty. Ltd. - Mining and sales of Australian iron ore Mitsui Development - Overseas coal mine development including import coal sales for general industries and investments Japan Collahuasi Resources B.V. - Investment in Chilean copper mine (Collahuasi Copper Mine) Nacala Corridor Holding Netherlands B.V. - Railway sales of coal, general cargo, and passengers in Mozambique Mitsui Metals - Domestic sales and trading of non-ferrous products, scrap, etc. Mitsui Bussan Copper Investment & Co., Ltd. - Investment in Chilean copper mine (Caserones Copper Mine) Mitsui Mineral Resources Development (Latin America) Limitada. - Investment in Chilean copper mine (copper mine under Anglo American) Mitsui & Co. Mineral Resources Development (Asia) Corp. - Investment in nickel and cobalt refining business in the Philippines BHP Mitsui Coal Pty. Ltd. - Mining and sales of coal Nippon Amazon Aluminum - Investment in Brazilian aluminum refining business Inner Mongolia Erdos Electric Power & Metallurgical Co., Ltd. - Coal, power, ferroalloy, Yellow River diversion, and chemical products
Project Division
Mitsui & Co. Plant Systems - Sales of various plants, power-related equipment, and railway equipment Mitsui Power Ventures limited - Investment in power generation business MIT POWER CANADA LP INC. - Investment in power generation business in Canada MITSUI GAS E ENERGIA DO BRASIL LTDA. - Investment in gas distribution business Atlatec, S.A. de C.V. - Design, construction, and operation of wastewater and sewage treatment facilities Tokyo International Air Cargo Terminal - Construction and operation of cargo terminals in the international area of Tokyo International Airport Portek International Private Limited - Container terminal and multipurpose port operation, sale of handling equipment, provision of port engineering services MT FALCON HOLDINGS COMPANY, S.A.P.I - Investment in power generation business in Mexico Toyo Engineering (Joint venture with Mitsui Chemicals and Obayashi Corporation) - Plant engineering IPM Eagle LLP - Investment in power generation business in Europe and Puerto Rico P.T. Paiton Energy - Investment in power generation business in Indonesia Compañía de Generación Valladolid S. de R.L. de C.V. - Investment in power generation business in Mexico AES JORDAN HOLDCO, LTD. - Investment in power generation business in Jordan RLC Power Holding Company Limited - Investment in desalination power generation business in Qatar
Mobility Division 1
Toyota Chile S.A. - Import and sales of automobiles and parts Veloce Logistica SA - Logistics services for automobile production plants (transportation, warehouses, etc.) Mitsui Bussan Automotive (Thailand) Co., Ltd. - Sales of automobiles, trucks, and buses P.T. Bussan Auto Finance - Motorcycle sales finance Mitsui Autozam - Import and export of completed vehicles, parts, production facilities, and vehicle net auctions Hino Motors Sales Mexico S.A. de C.V. - Import and sales of Hino trucks and spare parts Transystem Logistics International Pvt.Ltd. - Automotive-related logistics services Ellison Technologies Inc. - Sales, engineering, and services of machine tools, conveyors, and other equipment Mitsui Machinery Techno - Sales of machine tools, injection molding machines, and other equipment