Group 1 - Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Mitsubishi Corporation from 9.74% to 10.23%, triggering disclosure requirements under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act [1] - Following the announcement, Mitsubishi Corporation's stock price rose nearly 3%, contributing to an overall increase in the Japanese stock market [1] - Berkshire Hathaway's total investment in the five major Japanese trading companies has reached $23.5 billion, with an average annual return of 15.3% since the initial investment [3] Group 2 - The Nikkei 225 index has shown significant growth this year, with an increase of over 7% since the beginning of the year, recently surpassing 42,800 points [4] - Japan's economy expanded faster than expected in the last quarter, with a GDP growth rate of 1.0% for Q2, prompting speculation about potential interest rate hikes by the Bank of Japan [5] - A survey indicated that nearly two-thirds of economists believe the Bank of Japan will raise its key interest rate by at least 25 basis points later this year, reflecting a shift in expectations [5][6]

Group 1 - Berkshire Hathaway increased its stake in Mitsubishi Corporation from 9.74% to 10.23%, triggering disclosure requirements under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act [1] - Following the announcement, Mitsubishi Corporation's stock price rose nearly 3%, contributing to an overall increase in the Japanese stock market [1] - Berkshire Hathaway's total investment in the five major Japanese trading companies has reached $23.5 billion, with an average annual return of 15.3% since the initial investment [3] Group 2 - The Nikkei 225 index has seen a year-to-date increase of over 7%, recently surpassing 42,800 points, approaching its historical high of 43,876 points [4] - Japan's economy expanded at a faster-than-expected pace, with a second-quarter GDP growth rate of 1.0%, leading to expectations of a potential interest rate hike by the Bank of Japan [5] - A survey indicated that nearly two-thirds of economists believe the Bank of Japan will raise its key interest rate by at least 25 basis points later this year [5] Group 3 - Despite pressures for rate hikes due to inflation exceeding 2% for over three years, the Bank of Japan has maintained a cautious approach, partly due to concerns over U.S. tariffs impacting Japan's economic growth [6] - A recent survey showed that 92% of economists expect no rate adjustment in the upcoming monetary policy meeting, but 63% anticipate a rate increase in the next quarter [6]

Group 1 - Overseas investors net bought Japanese stocks (spot) of 573.7 billion yen in the second week of August, with futures net purchases reaching 1.1 trillion yen, the largest scale in about six years [2][4] - The net buying scale of spot stocks is the highest level in three weeks since the fourth week of July (602.3 billion yen) and the fifth highest since 2025 [4] - The Nikkei average index rose by 1,557 points (4%) in the second week of August, reaching a peak of 43,378 points on the 15th [4] Group 2 - The TOPIX Core 30 index, favored by overseas investors for its large-cap stocks, increased by 4% in the second week of August, outperforming the TOPIX index which rose by 3% [4] - SoftBank Group's stock price continued to rise, reflecting the trend of US tech stocks, with its market capitalization exceeding 24 trillion yen [6] - Bank stocks attracted significant buying interest due to better-than-expected GDP data, with some stocks hitting all-time highs [6] Group 3 - Overseas investors are shifting their focus to Japan, previously seen as a "low-growth" country, now recognizing new economic growth stories such as inflation [6] - Futures net purchases reached 1.1765 trillion yen, the largest scale since September 2019 [6] - Individual investors net sold stocks worth 1.1253 trillion yen, the largest scale since the fourth week of July, possibly taking profits amid market highs [7]