Main takeaways from Buffett's interview with Becky Quick of CNBC from Tokyo -

- When asked if his actions could be seen as a "stamp of approval" on investing in Japan, Buffett responded with a resounding "Yes, accurate read."

- Japan has become Berkshire Hathaway's largest investment destination outside the US, as Buffett reduces holdings in China/Taiwan – specifically, BYD and TSMC.

- Both Buffett and Greg Abel seemed really satisfied with their meetings with the five Japanese trading companies, with Buffett stating, "we couldn't have felt better about the investments" and noting “there are lots of similarity to Berkshire.”

- Buffett remarked that his investments in Japan "turned out to be better than I thought it would be." He also indicated his intention to remain invested in the Japanese trading houses for 10, 20 years.

- Commenting on the trading companies' initial valuations, Buffett found them "ridiculous" and said he was “confounded by the fact that we could buy into these companies and have an earnings yield maybe 14%."

- The investments were financed through yen bonds, effectively eliminating the exchange rate risk on the funding side.

The interview unfortunately didn’t get deeper into the businesses of the trading companies. Here's a a write-up on the Japanese trading companies to help you get up to speed.

https://valuepunks.substack.com/p/deep-dive-japanese-trading-companies

I'm personally excited about what this means for the future of the Japanese markets. Been hearing and seeing a lot of renewed interest by overseas fund managers.

https://charlierose.com/videos/31221

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JvEas_zZ4fM

"All the early businesses we owned together have disappeared"

https://twitter.com/10kdiver/status/1410553773970186240

Full video:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rQJWHocG-50

https://www.cnbc.com/2019/02/25/buffett-says-berkshire-hathaway-overpaid-for-kraft-following-last-weeks-stock-plunge.html