Morgan Stanley, New York-based second-largest U.S. securities firm by equity capital, is buying the Tokyo headquarters from Mitsubishi Motors, Japan’s fifth-biggest automaker in terms of sales revenue, for a sum exceeding $1.1 billion (about 120 billion yen).

The acquisition of the 32-story building in Shinagawa will be the biggest purchase of Japanese property by a foreign buyer in six years.

``These foreign funds are opportunistic and are buying up these properties to refurbish and sell in three or five years when occupancy and rental rates firm up after the economy improves,’’ said Mark Roeske, president of ChangeOut Consulting, a Tokyo-based consulting company.