Sogo shosha

Sogo shosha (総合商社, sōgō shōsha^?, or general trading companies) are Japanese companies that trade in a wide range of products and materials. In addition to acting as intermediaries, sōgō shōsha also engage in logistics, plant development and other services, as well as international resource exploration. Unlike trading companies in other countries, which are generally specialized in certain types of products, sōgō shōsha have extremely diversified business lines, in which respect the business model is unique to Japan.

The structure of sōgō shōsha can give them advantages in international trade. First, they have extensive risk management capabilities in that they trade in many markets, keep balances in many foreign currencies and can generate captive supply and demand for their own operations. They also have large-scale in-house market information systems which give them economies of scale in pursuing new business opportunities. Their vast scale also allows them to provide capital in the form of credit, financing and export services at low cost. Mitsui CEO Masami Iijima described general trading companies as similar to investment funds such as private equity funds, but distinguished by their ability to identify and implement business opportunities in various industries using the information and human resources gleaned from their trading business.

Sōgō shōsha are among the highest-paying employers in Japan; in 2011, six of the seven majors had average salaries of over 10 million yen. Along with financial institutions, they have consistently been among the most popular employers for graduates of top Japanese universities (Tokyo, Waseda and Keio) for over thirty years due to their high pay levels, stability and the diversity of opportunities available to employees.

After the opening of Japan in the mid-1800s, trade between Japan and the outside world was initially dominated by foreign merchants and traders from Western countries. As Japan modernized, a number of existing family-run conglomerates known as zaibatsu (most notably Mitsubishi and Mitsui) developed captive trading companies to coordinate production, transportation and financing between the various enterprises within the group. A number of smaller and more specialized Japanese firms, particularly in the cotton supply industry, also took on a larger role in acting as intermediaries for foreign trade, initially in importing raw cotton and later in exporting finished products. These companies were characterized by handling a variety of products, targeting various regions for their trading, establishing modern institutionalized risk management methods for their trading, and making substantial investments in domestic industrial operations.

...
Wikipedia