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May 15, 2025
 

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MANUFACTURING

Panasonic may be poised to benefit from having factories in the U.S. as Tesla and others seek to reduce their reliance on Chinese battery-makers.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Panasonic CEO says battery plans align with slower EV demand
The supplier of lithium-ion batteries to Tesla is getting ready to start production at a second U.S.-based factory in Kansas, but has frozen plans for a third plant.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa in Tokyo as the company releases its results
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Nissan gets ‘wake-up call’ with $4.5 billion annual net loss
The company plans more than 10,000 job cuts globally in addition to the 9,000 cuts announced previously.
Overall net profit is expected to go down 42.9% from the previous year to ¥200 billion at Nippon Steel, 18.4% to ¥75 billion at JFE Holdings and 16.8% to ¥100 billion at Kobe Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Three major Japan steelmakers say they expect profit falls in fiscal 2025
Overall net profit is expected to go down 42.9% from the previous year to ¥200 billion at Nippon Steel, 18.4% to ¥75 billion at JFE and 16.8% to ¥100 billion at Kobe Steel.
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung adjusts some of the toys on display at his office in Union City, California, on May 8. His company manufactures toys in China for clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2025
Tariffs crippled U.S.-owned factory in China that made toys for Walmart
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung says his company would survive if tariffs come down quickly. If they don't, he'd lose everything.
A humanoid robot walks as an employee conducts tests, on the production line at the AgiBot factory in Shanghai on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2025
China's AI-powered humanoid robots aim to transform manufacturing
Beijing is aiming for a new industrial revolution where many factory tasks would be performed by humanoid robots.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars and car parts imported to the U.S. have been painful to most global brands, but crippling in Nissan’s case.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2025
Nissan shares surge as carmaker set to cut 20,000 jobs in huge overhaul
The heavily indebted company, one of the top 10 automakers by unit sales, is expected to log a record annual loss of around $5 billion later in the day.
Sharp aims to focus its business resources on competitive fields by selling its Kameyama LCD plant to Hon Hai Precision Industry.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2025
Japan's Sharp to sell Kameyama LCD plant to Hon Hai
Sharp aims to focus its business resources on competitive fields by downsizing the LCD panel business, which has been operating in the red.
Workers sew garments along a production line at Thanh Cong Textile Garment in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 12, 2025
Chinese factories are looking for the next China
Tariffs have resulted in the cost of sending products to the United States soaring in recent weeks, forcing companies to find new trade routes.
Nidec has decided to withdraw a ¥257 billion ($1.8 billion) unsolicited tender offer for machine tool maker Makino Milling Machine, bowing to strong resistance from its target.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025
Nidec withdraws its $1.8 billion hostile takeover bid for Makino Milling Machine
Makino had previously threatened to block the takeover by granting stock acquisition rights to existing shareholders.
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.
Toyota vehicles bound for shipment at the Port of Nagoya. Japan’s 3-year-old corporate governance campaign has more room to grow and unlock value in Japan’s industrial heartland of Aichi Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025
Japan’s corporate governance wave reaches the industrial heartland in Nagoya
The city of Nagoya and the area around it are home to manufacturing giants including Toyota and Toyota group auto parts maker Denso.
The global shipping industry is also contending with U.S. measures beyond the barrage of levies.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 7, 2025
World’s trade superhighway feels strain from U.S.-China decoupling
Among signs of disruption are plunging fees, fewer services and a pall of uncertainty over what for decades has been one the main maritime highways of the global economy.
Workers operate sewing machines at a Thai Son S.P. garment factory in Binh Thuan province, Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam, on April 10. For more than 70 years, many emerging nations, especially in Asia, have become the low-cost manufacturer to the U.S., the world’s biggest consumer.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 5, 2025
Global factories struggle to overcome Trump tariffs and uncertainty
Purchasing manager indexes across Asia, along with revised numbers in Europe, showed new or persisting contractions in factory activity in April.
U.S. President Donald Trump's 100th day rally in Warren, Michigan, on April 29
BUSINESS
May 4, 2025
Auto workers welcome Trump tariffs, no matter the fate of Wall Street
According to some autoworkers, the tariffs are their best chance of restoring American manufacturing might.
A Honda vehicle is assembled at a plant in Lincoln, Alabama. Despite concerns about U.S. President Donald Trump's economic policies, around half of Japanese firms remain committed to the American market, according to a recent survey.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
May 2, 2025
Japan Inc. cautiously optimistic despite rising uncertainty
Trump's economic policies and geopolitical risks are front of mind for many Japanese companies. But many remain committed to staying in the U.S. and China, says a recent survey.
While the results were better than analysts had expected, investors are focused on how tariff concerns will play out in the coming quarter.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 2, 2025
Tim Cook says unchanged U.S. tariffs could dent Apple’s next-quarter margins
Apple Q2 beats expectations but warns that unchanged tariffs could cost the company $900 million and requires drastic supply-chain realignment.
Industrial production dropped 1.1% in March compared with the previous month, according to the industry ministry.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 30, 2025
Japan's factory output falls in sign of frailty before tariffs
Industrial production dropped 1.1% in March compared with the previous month, the industry ministry reported Wednesday. Economists had forecast a 0.4% drop.
A Nucor steel factory in Blytheville, Arkansas. Foreign competition isn't the biggest challenge for steel companies — it's finding workers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Steelmakers already short-staffed as Trump pushes for U.S. factory revival
The U.S. stopped training factory workers decades ago, and retirements and immigration crackdowns are draining the pool of labor available.
The United Steelworkers union headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025
Union tells Bessent risks of Nippon Steel deal are too great
The United Steelworkers said the risks cannot be overcome in any scenario in which Nippon Steel exercises influence over U.S. Steel’s decision-making.
The Japanese economy remains on a gradual recovery trend, the Finance Ministry said, while leaving its economic views unchanged for all of the country's 11 regions.
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 22, 2025
Japan's Finance Ministry maintains economic view while warning of risk
Many manufacturers expressed concern about the impact of U.S. President Donald Trump's sweeping tariffs on production, according to the ministry.
Transport ministry issues warning to Haneda Airport operator
The operator of Tokyo's Haneda Airport has been warned by the government over its inappropriate transactions.
Success of Chinese-made fighter jets against India raises alarm in Asia
Chinese J-10 fighter jets from the People's Liberation Army Air Force August 1st Aerobatics Team perform during a media demonstration at the Korat Royal Thai Air Force Base, Nakhon Ratchasima province, Thailand, in November 2015.
One month on, Osaka Expo urged to boost heat and crowd control measures
A gate to the Osaka Expo site is crowded with visitors on Monday.
Xi defiance pays off as Trump meets most China trade demands
Then-Chinese Vice President Xi Jinping visits a school in South Gate, California, in February 2012. Experts say Xi won big in his standoff with U.S. President Donald Trump.
Japanese retailers turn to California rice for cheaper alternative
U.S. Ambassador to Japan George Glass eats California rice at the U.S. Embassy in Tokyo on Tuesday along with Mitsuko Tsuchiya, vice president of retailer Aeon.
Sumo title contenders already emerging in early stages of Tokyo meet
Onosato (left) battles Abi on Day 3 of the Summer Basho in Tokyo on Tuesday.
Harmfully hot days for pregnant women in Japan nearly doubled over past five years
New research by a U.S. climate scientists’ group reveals that extreme heat has increased the risks of preterm births and other pregnancy complications in Japan, nearly doubling the number of days that are harmfully hot for pregnant women over the past five years.
Japanese automakers looking at a ¥1 trillion hit from Trump tariffs 
Cars on display at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama on Tuesday. The automaker posted a massive annual net loss and confirmed that it plans to cut thousands of jobs worldwide.
Tokyo Stock Exchange wants stocks to be affordable for the average investor
The Tokyo Stock Exchange building in Nihonbashi. The exchange wants companies to lower the entry cost of investing in their shares.
Consumption tax set to dominate Upper House election debate
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Tuesday.

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