A billionaire in his own right, he was the vice chairman of Mr. Buffett’s hugely successful investment firm Berkshire Hathaway. But he had far more influence than his title suggested.
The Japanese stock market is up nearly 30 percent this year, far ahead of the S&P 500, as firms bet that changes in how companies are run might just finally last.
The last crisis, in 2011, led to a credit downgrade that sank stocks. This time, Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen has warned of a “financial catastrophe.”