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May 09, 2025
 

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Nicholas Takahashi
A Nissan plug-in hybrid truck at the Shanghai Auto Show last month. Nissan is looking to invest in its China operations and use the nation’s intensely competitive market to accelerate its development of electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025
Nissan drops plan for Fukuoka battery plant to focus on recovery
The carmaker has abandoned plans to build a battery plant in Fukuoka Prefecture to focus on rescuing itself from a deepening financial crisis.
Jun Seki, chief strategy officer of Hon Hai Precision Industry's electric vehicle business, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on April 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2025
Hon Hai to make Mitsubishi an EV for Australia and New Zealand
The partnership makes Mitsubishi the first major customer for the Taiwanese contract manufacturer's fledgling EV business.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda proposed a buyout of Toyota Industries, seeking to consolidate his grip on Japan’s biggest business empire.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2025
Akio Toyoda's $42 billion buyout plan raises governance question
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda’s bid to buy out Toyota Industries could pit him against Japan’s efforts to reform its corporate landscape.
Toyota Motor’s sales rose 8% from a year earlier to 231,336 units, while Honda Motor recorded a 13% jump, according to data released Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Japanese carmakers’ U.S. sales surge ahead of Trump tariffs
Toyota Motor’s sales rose 8% from a year earlier to 231,336 units, while Honda Motor recorded a 13% jump, according to data released Thursday.
Stephen Ma, the head of Nissan’s operations in China, speaks during a news conference at the Shanghai auto show on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025
Nissan commits another $1.4 billion to China with EVs in focus
"With China moving so fast, we want to stay and we want to compete,” said Stephen Ma, the head of Nissan’s operations in China.
Executives from U.K. self-driving startup Wayve and SoftBank attend an event in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025
U.K. AI startup Wayve makes Japan debut after Nissan partnership
Earlier this month, Wayve said it was joining forces with Nissan Motor to help build the next generation of its ProPilot driver-assist system.
Mazda will halt production of CX-50 sport utility vehicles destined for Canada at its Alabama plant effective May 12.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2025
Mazda to pause U.S. production of CX-50 cars destined for Canada
The Japanese automaker will halt production of CX-50 sport utility vehicles destined for Canada at its Alabama plant effective May 12.
Production of Honda’s five-door hybrid Civic is set to be relocated to the firm’s plant in Indiana in June or July.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2025
Honda to shift production of Civic from Japan to U.S. due to tariffs
Production of the five-door hybrid model will be relocated around June or July to Honda’s plant in Indiana.
Global sales, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 2% from a year ago to 846,744 units, a record for the month of January, Toyota Motor said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025
Toyota’s domestic sales rebound as it recovers from scandals
Despite unease in major markets and a dip in quarterly profit, Toyota raised its annual profit guidance for the fiscal year ending in March.
Nissan Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida during a news conference at the company’s global headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2025
Honda and Nissan parting leaves both with unresolved problems
One needs scale to compete on the global stage, the other a lifeline to stay afloat.
Employees assemble D-Max trucks on an assembly line at Isuzu's Samrong Plant in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand, in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025
Isuzu to build car plant in South Carolina as Trump tariffs loom
Isuzu plans to have the site up and running by 2027, aiming to employ more than 700 workers there by 2028 and produce 50,000 vehicles annually by 2030.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe during a news conference in December
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2025
Honda and Nissan results will highlight flaws as deal set to fail
The likely fallout of Honda’s short-lived alliance with Nissan spells trouble for both companies, but probably one more than the other.
Toyota is investing in increased capacity for electric vehicles and has unveiled plans to establish a subsidiary in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Toyota raises annual profit guidance despite quarterly income drop
The automaker now expects a profit of ¥4.7 trillion ($31 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, up from its previous forecast of ¥4.3 trillion.
Motorcycles on display at the Honda pavilion at the Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok in March 2024
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2025
Honda’s motorcycle business is the gem in a messy Nissan union
Two-wheelers accounted for about 16% of Honda’s sales last fiscal year but an outsized 40% of its operating profit.
Honda and Nissan announced in December that they plan to unite both brands under a single holding company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025
Case for Honda-Nissan tie-up strengthened as sales fall at both automakers
In the competitive China market, Nissan’s sales fell 12% last year while Honda saw a 30% decline.
Honda's electric two-wheeler concept models are on display at it's headquarters in Tokyo. Honda aims to capture half of the world’s motorbike market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025
Honda sets its sights on 50% share of world’s motorcycle market
The company's global motorcycle sales are forecast to reach 20.2 million for the fiscal year ending this March, which would give it a share of about 40%.
Mitsubishi Motors is unlikely to join Honda and Nissan's deal to create a holding company together, it was reported Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 24, 2025
Mitsubishi Motors won’t join Honda and Nissan tie-up, Yomiuri says
Mitsubishi Motors hasn’t made any announcements and is considering all options, a spokesperson for the company said.
A trailer transports Nissan’s NV200 Venette minivans in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 21, 2025
Nissan to end production of compact van as Honda rescue looms
Manufacturing unit Nissan Shatai hasn’t made any decisions on job cuts, a Nissan spokesperson said.
Nissan's Ariya electric crossover sport utility vehicle on the production line at the company's plant in Kaminokawa, Tochigi Prefecture
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Japan’s carmakers vow closer ties to regain ground in China
Japan’s automakers are united in their struggle to regain ground they’ve lost to the flashy offerings that have turned China into a global EV superpower.
Toyota's business is feeling the strain of intense competition over hybrid cars in the U.S. and locally made electric vehicles in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 25, 2024
Toyota sales stagnate as factory glitches compound weaker demand
Vehicle sales totaled 984,348 units last month, the Japanese automaker said Wednesday, down 0.2% year-on-year.
Man held after two injured in Tokyo Metro knife attack
Police outside Todaimae Station on the Namboku Line on Wednesday evening after a knife attack at the station 　
U.S. and Japan remain far apart on tariffs
Japan's Economic Revitalization Minister Ryosei Akazawa speaks to the press upon his arrival at Haneda Airport on April 18. He has said that all tariffs need to be reconsidered by the United States.
Man admitted to 2025 Osaka Expo with 85-year-old ticket
The Osaka Expo, which opened last month, runs through mid-October.
Japan's 'ice age' employment generation is at risk of poverty during retirement
Those who entered the job market from around 1993 to 2004, when long-term stagnation started, are likely to struggle even more to make ends meet after retirement.
India strikes Pakistan over Kashmir tourist killings
Indian paramilitary personnel stand guard along a road in Srinagar on Wednesday after New Delhi launched missile strikes on archrival Pakistan in a major escalation between the nuclear-armed neighbors.
With a new Shibuya studio, Apple Music bets big on Japan
Apple Music personalities (from left) Ebro Darden, Kentaro Ochiai, Zane Lowe and Mino came together for a special recording in late April to discuss music and celebrate the newly opened Apple Music studio in Tokyo.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 expands to become one of Asia's largest startup events
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 was bustling with participants of various nationalities Thursday, and multiple languages could be heard around the room as many engaged in conversations throughout the day.
Celebrating Japan’s defeat at Shimoda’s Black Ships Festival
Tatsumi Onose (right), who plays the part of Commodore Matthew Perry in Shimoda's Black Ship Festival, says the historical episode the event is based on should be remembered for its positives more than its negatives.
'Big picture thinker': Ispace CEO Hakamada on reaching the moon and dreaming of starships
Takeshi Hakamada, founder and CEO of Ispace, says his primary interest in space development is not to abandon Earth, but to protect it.
The drive for luxury: Aston Martin Asia's president explains the desire for more
While for Aston Martin, it’s all about delivering luxury, their regional president for Asia Gregory Adams' start in the auto industry in Japan was far more humble.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Dangami House is a 180-year-old former samurai residence of the Kato clan, who ruled over Ozu, Ehime Prefecture, until the Meiji Restoration.
A house, a legacy and the quiet work of restoration in rural Japan
By Hanako Lowry

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society
Fujitsu crafts sustainable innovation for itself, society

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