Tag - manufacturing

 
Menu
Search
 
October 15, 2025
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

MANUFACTURING

A Nippon Steel blast furnace building in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Dec. 6
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 14, 2024
Nippon Steel’s plan B now in focus as $14 billion U.S. deal falters
The bid for the once-fabled American company ran into a maelstrom of political opposition in the U.S. in the run-up to the presidential election.
A Toyota production line in New Jersey. The U.S. is a key market for Japanese automakers, who are closely monitoring policy changes in Washington as the incoming Trump administration is likely to change the course set by President Joe Biden.
COMMENTARY / Japan / Geoeconomic Briefing
Dec 12, 2024
Japan’s auto industry looks down the road to Trump presidency
Of the cars sold in the U.S., 40% are from Japanese makers, who are determined to hold onto this market share despite Washington's policy vagaries in the auto field.
Akihiro Kaneko, president of the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Dec. 3.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2024
Japan union head calls for government to work more on raising pay
The call comes as Japan prepares for annual wage negotiations that culminate in the spring.
The United Steelworkers union claims that Nippon Steel's latest offer is tantamount to bribery.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 11, 2024
Union blasts Nippon Steel’s $5,000 per worker bonus in U.S. Steel deal
The United Steelworkers called Nippon Steel's move “a classic union-busting tactic” and a “desperate attempt to win over support for its doomed acquisition.”
The Bank of Japan's tankan quarterly survey for December is expected to show slightly weaker business sentiment among both major manufacturers and nonmanufacturers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 11, 2024
BOJ quarterly survey likely to show weaker business sentiment in Japan
A slowdown in foreign economies, especially those of China and Europe, and the growing trend to spend less amid inflation, are seen weighing on sentiment.
U.S. President Joe Biden — born in U.S. Steel’s home state of Pennsylvania — has long signaled opposition to the company's sale to Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS
Dec 11, 2024
U.S. says review of Nippon Steel bid ongoing as U.S. Steel shares tumble
The companies are poised to pursue litigation over the process if U.S. President Joe Biden decides to block the merger, sources added.
The exterior of a blast furnace building is seen during a media tour by Nippon Steel at their East Nippon Works Kashima Area facility in Kashima, Ibaraki Prefecture, on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 10, 2024
Nippon Steel makes final push to win over U.S. workers
Nippon Steel said it made new commitments with regards to where and when a previously announced $1.4 billion capital expenditure commitment would be spent.
Factory workers make jeans in Dhaka in March 2023.
BUSINESS
Dec 9, 2024
Extreme heat puts garment factory workers at risk, study shows
New European Union regulations make retailers selling in the bloc legally liable for conditions at their suppliers.
A Chevrolet Bolt electric vehicle (EV) at a dealership in Colma, California, on Jan. 26
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 9, 2024
Trump's EV skepticism threatens $54 billion in Korean investments
Some Korean companies have slowed or hit the pause button on any ongoing construction of some plants in the U.S. because they’re concerned about reduced demand for EVs.
If the deal goes through, the Japanese steelmaker has promised not to transfer any U.S. Steel production capacity or jobs outside the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2024
Nippon Steel committed to U.S. Steel takeover, executive says
"There is no global strategy without the U.S.," Takahiro Mori, the Japanese company's vice chairman, said this week.
Panasonic CEO Masahiro Shinada (far right) and others cut the ribbon at the unveiling of a facility to be run solely on renewable energy in Cardiff, Wales, on Tuesday.
BUSINESS
Dec 4, 2024
Panasonic plant in U.K. to go fully renewable
The firm has installed a system to generate power using green hydrogen, produced without causing carbon dioxide emissions.
An official from the Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions writes on a board the results of this year's shuntō annual spring labor negotiations in March in Tokyo.
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 3, 2024
JCM to demand pay-scale hike of ¥12,000 or more in 2025
The organization is aiming to ensure wage increases exceed the rate of inflation.
U.S. President-elect Donald Trump says he will "block" a planned takeover of U.S. Steel by Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024
Trump says will 'block' Nippon Steel from taking over U.S. Steel
Days after the U.S. election last month, Nippon Steel said it expected to close its takeover of the company before the end of the year.
Funai Electric Chairperson Yoshiaki Harada holds a news conference in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024
Funai's chairman files for its court-led rehabilitation
The court decision came after one of the company's directors filed a "quasi-voluntary bankruptcy" petition in late October.
Sharp's plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, that has ceased production of large liquid crystal display panels for television, a symbolic end to the company's signature business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 1, 2024
Sharp marks end of era with halt to large LCD panel production
Now owned by a Taiwanese investor, Sharp has also scaled back production of small and medium-sized LCD panels used in smartphones and personal computers.
The industry ministry plans to provide aid of up to ¥70.5 billion to auto parts maker Denso and Fuji Electric for the joint production of power semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024
Denso and Fuji Electric to get government aid for power chips
Although Japanese companies have a large share of the global power semiconductor market, production volume per maker is smaller compared with European and U.S. peers.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's direct approach appears to mark a shift in the Japanese government's stance on the deal.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2024
Ishiba urges Biden to approve Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, sources say
The prime minister sent a letter asking the U.S. president to avoid marring recent efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Four House Republicans wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday, saying that recent developments related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) "have called into question the integrity of its decision-making process,” and demanding the preservation of records related to a potential sale of U.S. Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2024
U.S. Steel review targeted by Republicans for potential probe
GOP lawmakers are calling on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to preserve documents related to the proposed sale to Japan's Nippon Steel.
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock
Fujikura, which makes narrow wire cabling, is the best performer on the Nikkei stock index this year due to a boom in demand for data centers.
Nippon Steel has accused critics of the U.S. Steel deal of making inaccurate comments about the transaction.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024
Nippon Steel claims union 'misinformation' in battle for U.S. Steel
Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori has reiterated commitments made by Nippon Steel, which include maintaining U.S. Steel’s blast furnace operations.
Hypothermia in the land of the rising Sanae
Amid the election of Sanae Takaichi as Liberal Democratic Party president, and possibly the next prime minister, Japan's economy shows signs of recovery, but weak wages, a conservative corporate culture and currency issues raise doubts about a true economic thaw.
Number of scenarios now on the table for who might be Japan’s next prime minister
Newly-elected leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party Sanae Takaichi (right) celebrates with Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba after winning the LDP leadership election in Tokyo on October 4.
After plenty of ups and downs, Osaka Expo concludes with message of unity
The sun sets on the Grand Ring on the final day of the Osaka Expo on Monday.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
A frenetic diplomatic schedule looms for Japan’s next leader — whomever that may be
As horse-trading and speculation surge over who will be elected the next prime minister in parliament — the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Sanae Takaichi or a possible candidate put forward by a unified opposition — Japan’s next leader will be confronted with a quick succession of key diplomatic events.
Ghost of Yotei’s bloodstained fun sidesteps Ainu identity
Ghost of Yotei, the follow-up to 2020's smash hit Ghost of Tsushima, is a violent, vengeful and engaging romp through 17th-century Hokkaido that fails to stick the landing on its most sensitive cultural material.
At Osaka Expo, gas giants promote a greener future. But is it a lot of hot air?
The Gas Pavilion had welcomed around 500,000 visitors by the end of August, making it one of the most popular exhibits at the Osaka Expo.
‘Takaichi trade’ starts unwinding as political calculus upended by Komeito exit
Less than a week ago, Sanae Takaichi seemed set to become Japan's first female prime minister.
‘Save the Ring’ calls intensify as Osaka Expo’s end nears
Visitors lounge on the grassy hill on the top of the Grand Ring during the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka in May.

Podcast

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

Longform

Rock group The Yellow Monkey played K-Arena Yokohama in June as part of a nationwide tour. Concerts are increasingly popular in the age of social media as users value in-person experiences.
Inside Japan’s arena boom: Sports, sound and city-building
By Patrick St. Michel

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons
Maruhachi never sleeps in quest for better futons

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER