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Norihiko Shirouzu
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 12, 2017
How Honda lost its mojo, and the mission to get it back
The driver punched the air as his red and white McLaren-Honda roared over the finish line. It was in Suzuka, Mie Prefecture, 1988, and Ayrton Senna had just become Formula One world champion for the first time. The McLaren racing team and its engine maker, Honda Motor, were unstoppable that year, their...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2016
Toyota expands battery options with safer lithium-ion devices
Engineers at Toyota Motor Corp. say they have tamed volatile lithium-ion battery technology, and can now safely pack more power at no significant extra cost, giving the automaker the option to enter the growing all-electric car market.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 15, 2016
Nissan says new VC-T gasoline engine could make diesels obsolete
Nissan Motor Co. has come up with a new type of gasoline engine that it says may make some advanced diesel engines obsolete.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2016
Fed up with bland cars, automakers tap anime for 'J-factor' inspiration
Some of Japan's top automakers, with a reputation for quality performance wrapped in often bland design, are turning to the country's pop culture to give them the "J-factor" and help set them apart in a world of growing look-alikes.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 2, 2015
In the rearview mirror: Car designer warns of Google game-changer
The days of cheap and cheerful cars like the Honda Civic and Toyota Corolla may be numbered as technology firms Google and Apple muscle into the auto industry and change the way people own and drive automobiles.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Oct 28, 2015
Auto power play: Japan's hydrogen car in a race against China's battery drive
Asia's two vehicle-making powerhouses, Japan and China, are jostling for supremacy over how future electric cars should generate their power — from batteries or hydrogen-powered fuel cells.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 16, 2015
Daihatsu dismantling 'Toyota Way' as market changes
When Daihatsu Motor Co. launched the Mira e:S minicar in 2011, the Toyota affiliate thought it had found a model for emerging markets. The Mira e:S — e for eco, S for smart — was capable of going 30 kilometers on a liter of gasoline (72 mpg) for a sticker price of just ¥795,000, or $6,637. And indeed,...
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 1, 2014
Inside Takata, tantrums but little sense of crisis over air bags
Shigehisa Takada, the third-generation head of Takata Corp., shows little sense of the crisis engulfing the Japanese air bag maker at the center of one of the auto industry's biggest safety recalls, according to three people who have met him recently.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2014
Regulators' sweep threatens auto parts business model
When a Japanese carmaker issued a tender for shock absorbers a few years ago for a model it planned to sell in Indonesia, two suppliers came back with bids that were "so obviously coordinated," said an executive at the automaker.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2014
Toyota ratchets up 'green car' race with 2015 fuel cell vehicle launch
In 1997, Toyota caught its competitors by surprise with the revolutionary Prius, the first commercially successful gasoline-electric hybrid car. Now it is trying to do the same with a technology that seems straight out of science fiction.

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji