"Why buy those five stocks in Japan when we have the pink sheets in America?"

While the shares are available as "pink sheet" stocks, they are not very liquid in the US meaning a potential haircut on the purchase and a skinning on their sale. To add insult to injury, the bank which packages the ADR charges an annual fee for the service to the shareholder. Considering these are among the most liquid shares in Japan and the friction for currency conversion at Interactive brokers is minimal - why wouldn't you buy them in Japan (assuming owning them in their native currency met part of your diversity goals)?

The main argument for owning BRK is that one is betting that WB and crew will be able to deploy the funds better than you can (capital gains taxes are a wash - unless you hold the shares until you croak - in which case, who cares). Making use of his choices, independent to owning BRK, is simply a matter of preference.

Jeff