Mitsui & Co.

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (三井物産, Mitsui Bussan) is one of the largest sogo shosha (general trading companies) in Japan, and also part of the Mitsui Group. Its business area covers energy, machinery, chemicals, food, textile, logistics, finance, and more.

History

First established in 1876 with 16 members including the founder, Takashi Masuda. As Japan's international trading was dominated by foreigners since the end of the Edo period, it aimed to displace trading back to Japanese nationals by expanding business owned by Japanese citizens. By the end of World War II, it became 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. 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, Mitsui was a key player in several major projects in the natural resources sector. 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.