ITOCHU: The Rival Inside the Same MineNarrow moat

ITOCHU earned ¥910.11 billion of trailing net income on a market value of ¥15.94 trillion¹, close to Mitsui's profit and above its value. The two have taken different paths: ITOCHU built its business on consumers and services, Mitsui on resources and infrastructure.

In iron ore they are inside the same project. When BHP took the final investment decision on Ministers North in July 2026, the ownership was BHP 85%, ITOCHU 8% and Mitsui 7%². Both Japanese houses supply capital and take ore; neither runs the mine.

That kind of joint minority position is common in Japanese resource investment, and it makes the houses as much a consortium as rivals in the upstream. The competition happens elsewhere: for take-private targets in Japan, for infrastructure stakes abroad, and for graduates.

The measure is profit through a commodity downturn. ITOCHU's lower resource weighting should let it pull ahead when iron ore falls; Mitsui holding level would show its non-resource half carrying more weight than the market assumes.