By Daiki Kawasaki
Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer
Masahiro Koike, president and CEO of Tokio Marine Holdings Inc., said the capital and business partnership with U.S. investment firm Berkshire Hathaway will serve as a "booster" to achieve Tokio Marine's goal of doubling its adjusted net income over the next 10 years, during an interview with The Yomiuri Shimbun.
The company aims to increase its adjusted net income to 1.7 trillion yen in fiscal 2035, about double the amount in fiscal 2025. The partnership with the U.S. firm "will broaden our M&A (merger and acquisition) options...(and)...allow us to allocate more of our own funds to investments in our solutions business," he said
The following is excerpted from the interview.
The Yomiuri Shimbun: In March, you formed a capital and business partnership with Berkshire Hathaway Group, led by renowned investor Warren Buffett. What benefit do you expect?
Masahiro Koike: It will undoubtedly serve as a booster to help us achieve our goals. By forming this partnership, we are now able to focus more on creating value over the medium- to long-term. The support of the financially strong Berkshire will broaden our M&A options.
I also find it extremely appealing that we can secure Berkshire's cooperation in M&A of the insurance industry, which will allow us to allocate more of our own funds to investments in our solutions business.
Yomiuri: Which regions are you focusing on for acquiring insurers?
Koike: Canada and Australia are attractive markets because Tokio Marine's business scale there is relatively small compared to the size of their economic regions. We need to continue focusing on India from the viewpoints of politics, the economy and growth potential. In Latin America, we have long been watching Mexico. We need to search broadly for partners in these areas and proceed patiently while maintaining a healthy sense of urgency.
Yomiuri: At the earnings briefing for overseas investors, Brad Irick, managing executive officer in charge of international business, said that you are prepared to allocate around 10 billion dollars in investment projects within 12 to 18 months.
Koike: I believe that's him expressing his aspirations as the head of our international operations. At this point, I don't have any specific ideas in mind.
Yomiuri: Why have you set a target for adjusted net income?
Koike: Our business is at a major turning point, as we, for example, have launched a new solutions business dedicated to addressing social issues in addition to our domestic and international insurance operations. We recognized the need to present a medium- to long-term vision that bridges our Polaris (guiding star) -- our purpose of "protecting our customers and society in times of need" -- with our current mid-term management plan. This goal was developed in collaboration with executives and young employees worldwide.
Doubling our adjusted net income -- which adjusts for one-time factors like natural disasters -- over the next 10 years is an ambitious yet inspiring move that signifies our commitment to serving our customers. To achieve this, we will pursue business diversification and geographic expansion. To gain investor support, we aim to raise our return on equity $(ROE)$, a key indicator of management efficiency, from the current level of around 13% to at least 17%.
Yomiuri: In the solutions business, you have set a goal of generating 100 billion yen in adjusted net income by fiscal 2035, which is ten times the current level. How will you achieve the goal?
Koike: We want to achieve significant growth in the disaster prevention and mitigation sector. We also need to establish several other pillars, and we intend to welcome partners through M&A.
Yomiuri: What specific areas are you targeting?
Koike: We are currently exploring options, but we are considering a business model in which we sell cyber insurance (which compensates for damages caused by cyberattacks) with cybersecurity services. We aim to provide greater peace of mind and safety, and to enhance our presence in the domestic market.
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This article is from The Yomiuri Shimbun. Neither Dow Jones Newswires, MarketWatch, Barron's nor The Wall Street Journal were involved in the creation of this content.
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June 11, 2026 22:04 ET (02:04 GMT)
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