Buffett's company Berkshire Hathaway is based in Omaha, Nebraska.

It is known for its long-term strategies and has stakes in some of the best-known US companies...

including Apple, Bank of America, and Coca-Cola.

He surprised many market participants with a recent addition to his portfolio... Japanese trading houses.

Similar to conglomerates but unique to Japan,

these businesses not only trade in a diverse range of products,

but they also develop energy explorations and other major projects.

Buffett acquired shares in 5 major trading houses in 2020 and has been increasing his stakes.

He is also weighing whether to buy more.

The president of one of those companies is welcoming Buffett's move.

"I get the impression that he really understands how we allocate our resources,

as well as our business model and characteristics."

Since Buffett's investments came to light, the 5 trading houses have seen their stock prices shoot up...

with 4 of them more than doubling.

This market strategist says what Buffett likes about the trading houses

could be that they deal with issues in line with Japan's national interests.

"Japan is a resource poor nation and has to secure energy and raw materials from overseas.

Trading houses are at the forefront of these efforts, even though they are private entities.

It would be hard for newcomers to replace them.

Buffett probably sees that this unique position makes them stable and competitive in the long run."

Meanwhile, Buffett has had second thoughts on Taiwan.

He made a U-turn on a multi-billion dollar investment in the world's largest contract chipmaker, TSMC.

He cites geopolitical risks as tensions grow between the US and China.

Last week, Buffett says he is more comfortable with his group deploying capital in Japan than in Taiwan.

Matsumoto says worsening relations between the US and China

could make Japan more important for foreign investors like Buffett.

"China has been called the world's factory.

But if Western nations try to restructure supply chains,

there is the possibility that some production could shift back to Japan."

The Tokyo Stock Exchange last month saw a huge net growth in purchases by overseas investors.

The windfall will put Japanese companies to the test to show their real ability to earn.

This company operates a website that provides legal advice.

It is developing a new system that will be helped by ChatGPT.

The system is being fed data from 1.2 million prior consultations.

It will use this knowledge bank to respond to future queries free of charge.

The prototype is asked about one of the most frequent topics... divorce.

It takes into account human feelings.

Then it explains the legal procedures...

... as well as financial compensation.

Currently, actual lawyers answer the 10,000 inquiries that come in each month.

The AI can automatically answer, so the company hopes it can supplement the staff and handle even more cases.

"The software is trained every day and gets smarter and smarter.

In a few years' time, we could be at the point where the AI is providing legal advice

similar to what you would get from veteran attorneys."

ChatGPT is also helping with the difficult job-hunting process.

Every company has its own questionnaire for applicants.

This college student asked for help with reasons to apply to certain companies.

The student says the replies made her think of the companies in a new way.

She passed the first stage of the process at several companies.

"The biggest benefit has been learning about various aspects of companies that weren't previously on my radar.

I think it will help me shift direction in my job search."

AI is being used on the other side of the interview table.

Human resource managers from over 60 companies joined an online seminar.

They learned how to use ChatGPT to create job listings, write e-mails and sort through applications.

The consulting company that organized the seminar says

because it is difficult to tell which applications were written by AI, in-person interviews are key.

"The recruiter must meet with applicants and ask questions to dig deeper into the content of the application.

They need to identify the intangibles that make a certain candidate shine, but can't be expressed by ChatGPT."

Streamlining business tasks is certainly helpful, but one expert has a warning for the future.

"We are quickly approaching the stage where AI will be a true game changer

and fundamentally alter the very nature of our society.

Public debate is needed to address both the good and bad presented by the emerging technology."

As everyone from job applicants to the executives of large companies taps into the power of generative AI,

society must understand the risks.

This popular trimming service is known for both its quality and its employees

- most of whom are retired office workers with an average age of 73!

And while this may appear to be a normal family

- the kids are being watched by a paid professional who was hired to provide a helping hand.

Today's Onsite Report shows how Japanese seniors are contributing to society

by finding new jobs that allow them to put their energy and skills to good use!

Kashiwa City is located about 30 kilometers northeast of Tokyo.

The group of seniors who've gathered in this residential neighborhood

were hired to do some tree and shrub trimming.

At an average age of 73, their age isn't the only thing that may surprise you...

Me? I used to work in IT.

The team is primarily made up of former bankers, salespeople, and other white-collar workers.

Kashiwa City grew rapidly during the 60s and 70s

when a wave of young adults flocked to the Tokyo suburb during the height of Japan's economic growth period.

Nearly 50 years later, much of the city's population is now past retirement age.

In 2011, The University of Tokyo's Institute of Gerontology opened a new facility at its Kashiwa campus.

A year later, it began holding a series of seminars that examined how older adults spend life after retirement age,

and provided advice for finding employment.

Rather than looking for jobs that limit them to past experience,

Professor Hiyama Atsushi encouraged participants create new job opportunities that they find fun or exciting.

Rather than fitting into the mold of a pre-existing job,

creating your own work opportunities can be much more rewarding.

One of the participants who attended Hiyama's lecture was former banker Bando Akihiko.

In 2015, he decided to turn his gardening hobby into a business,

and began offering yard work services to residences located around his neighborhood.

He started with a crew of 11 senior employees, but soon ran into several unforeseen problems.

Some staff said they didn't want to put in long hours now that they were retired

and others would suddenly call-in to say they couldn't come in because their grandchildren were visiting.

I would have to make several phone calls and send out a ton of emails to find enough people for just one job.

When I didn't hear back or was given all these excuses,

I knew that I would be in trouble if I didn't make some major changes.

After hearing about his struggles, Professor Hiyama provided him with a custom-made web-based application

that can efficiently organize and assign work.

The website allows registered members to quickly and easily keep Bando informed of their availability.

The software gives Bando access to an online calendar

that displays the members desired work days and time slots.

When scheduling, this allows him to match the size of the job

to days when the ideal number of workers are available.

On the day we visited, 14 members were available to work.

Despite its size, it only took the group 3 hours to finish working on the property.

The property owner paid around $400 for the work that was done.

After expenses, each member received about $25 for their services.

For white-collar workers who spent most of their time in an office, this is hard work and requires a lot of skill.

But I don't think you'll hear anyone complain, because we really enjoy working together!

Today, 72-year old Hayashi Emiko is visiting the residence of a young family with 2 children.

Emiko spent nearly 50 years taking care of her family as a housewife.

When her husband passed away 2 years ago, she decided to find work that could put her domestic skills to good use.

I've been cooking for so long, it just comes naturally.

At this age, I'm just happy to be able to help!

Founded by Kohinata Eri, the services is called "Tokyo Kaasan," which translates to Tokyo Mother.

Kohinata decided to start a business that could give senior women with domestic skills an employment opportunity

that would allow them to capitalize on their hard-earned experience.

Being a mother is beyond a full-time job

- from house work and taking care of kids to giving important advice, they do it all!

Today, we tagged along with 63-year-old Shimizu Yumi to see what a day on the job entails for her.

Waiting for her to arrive are Phillip and his 3 children.

Philip's wife has a full-time corporate job, while he works from home as a translator.

Between work and trying to take of the kids, I don't even have time to think about what to ask her to do!

But Yumi just knows what needs to be done and starts right in.

Thank you!

You are such a life saver!

When his son comes home from school, they go over notes from his teacher together.

It says to make sure that his water bottle has his name on it.

Having raised 3 children of her own, Yumi says she knows exactly what young parents struggle with.

Rather than feeling like work, it feels like I'm just coming over to play with my grandchildren!

She's even up to the challenge of teaching them how to ride a bicycle!

At around 6pm, while Phillip rounding the kids up for a bath,

Yumi starts to prepare dinner for the whole family.

And later in the evening, she even helps put them to bed.

My mother helped me a lot when I was younger, so I'm just trying to give the same kind of support.

It's now just after 8pm and after a busy 5-hour day, Yumi is wrapping up her "Tokyo Kaasan" work.

It's great having someone here to help us out and to learn from.

Yumi has become someone very important for the kids, not just as a caregiver,

but like a real member of the family, and I think that's wonderful!

Being able to use a lot of the domestic skills I learned in a job like this

just goes to show how valuable all the experience I gained working for decades as a wife and as a mother truly is.