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July 06, 2025
 

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MANUFACTURING

The Maruti Suzuki India e-Vitara during the Bharat Mobility Global Expo in New Delhi in January
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 4, 2025
Suzuki is becoming a top Japan importer with made-in-India cars
Suzuki beat out Mercedes-Benz to become Japan’s top car importer in June, thanks to the Jimny Nomad and another popular small SUV assembled in India.
A worker installs part of a business-class aircraft seat at the factory of Safran Seats GB in Cwmbran, South Wales, Britain, on Feb. 20.
BUSINESS / FOCUS
Jul 3, 2025
Airline seat industry crisis delaying jet deliveries
Certification bottlenecks and growing demand for bespoke features make it hard for the fragmented sector to achieve economies of scale after the pandemic.
The Bank of Japan's latest <i>tankan</i> survey beat consensus forecasts as the economy held up better than expected.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jul 1, 2025
Large Japanese companies surprisingly optimistic as U.S. tariffs bite 
In the tankan survey, automakers and smaller companies were relatively pessimistic.
Nissan will begin talks this week to seek job cuts at its Sunderland plant in Britain.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2025
Nissan says it will seek voluntary job cuts at U.K. plant
Nissan said the move was aimed at increasing the efficiency of the Sunderland plant in northeastern England to make it a "leaner, more flexible" operation.
Japan's factory output in May fell 1.8% from a year earlier, missing expectations of a 1.6% rise.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 30, 2025
Japan’s factory output misses expectations as U.S. tariffs hit
Industrial production increased 0.5% from the previous month, the industry ministry reported Monday.
Pat Gelsinger (left), former Intel CEO and general partner at Playground Global, and Peter Barrett, co-founder and general partner of Playground, in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 27, 2025
Former Intel CEO Gelsinger has some advice for Japan's Rapidus
He encourages the chipmaker to distinguish itself in some way from TSMC.
Ryosei Akazawa, Japan’s chief tariff negotiator (left), meets with Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto.
BUSINESS
Jun 24, 2025
Japan needs a big, beautiful trade deal with the United States
A creative solution along the lines of the U.S. Steel "golden share" has been suggested.
An electric motor, jointly developed by Honda and Daido Steel, for hybrid cars that uses no heavy rare earth metals is displayed at an unveiling in Tokyo in July 2016.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 23, 2025
Honda supplier rethinks China relationship as trade war bites
For Daido Steel, the trade war has meant renewing a push to build rare earth supply routes outside of China.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto leaves a news conference, at which he discussed the acquisition of United States Steel, on Thursday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 19, 2025
Nippon Steel completes U.S. Steel acquisition after 18-month slog
The firm now owns all the stock of the American steel-maker, other than a "golden share" that gives the U.S. government a degree of control
Workers pack bathroom fittings in a factory of the Taiwanese-owned LCM Group in Kunshan, China, on June 10.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jun 18, 2025
Taiwan's entrepreneurs in China feel heat from cross-strait tensions
Safety fears have led many Taiwanese manufacturers to turn to less politically sensitive locales such as Vietnam and Thailand.
U.S. government's "golden share" in U.S. Steel will require the company to obtain approval from the U.S. president before relocating its headquarters from Pittsburgh or changing its name, U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said Saturday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 15, 2025
'Golden share' to help U.S. Steel keep name and prevent relocation
The move will also prevent Nippon Steel from transferring production or jobs outside the U.S. without consent of the U.S. president.
A production line at a plate rolling mill is seen at Nippon Steel's East Nippon Works Kimitsu Area plant in Kimitsu, Chiba Prefecture, last month.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Jun 14, 2025
Debt to decarbonization: challenges for Nippon Steel
The Japanese giant faces numerous headwinds going forward, including onerous U.S. trade tariffs and lackluster global demand.
University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii (left) and Y.J. Mii, a TSMC executive vice president, at a news conference Thursday. The school and the company have been working together since 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 12, 2025
TSMC and Tokyo University team up to establish a chip lab
The chip giant and university will work together on chip-related technologies and supporting educational and research and development opportunities.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori at U.S. Steel's Irvin Works facility in West Mifflin, Pennsylvania, on May 30
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 11, 2025
3D urges shareholders to reject new term for Nippon Steel heads
Nippon Steel’s large-scale capital investment plan "significantly” exceeds the company’s market value, 3D said in a statement.
A worker cleans the floor next of a BYD dealership in Sandton, South Africa, on June 5.
BUSINESS / Tech / FOCUS
Jun 10, 2025
Why China's auto and tech giants threaten Tesla’s self-driving future
More Chinese auto and tech companies are offering affordable electric vehicles with advanced technology for a relative pittance.
A Mercedes-Benz production line in Rastatt, Germany, earlier this month. European auto suppliers alone have filed hundreds of requests to China for rare earths since early April, with only about a quarter granted.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jun 6, 2025
The world's auto supply chain is in the hands of a few Chinese bureaucrats
China holds a near-monopoly on rare earth magnets — a crucial component in EV motors — and it added them to an export control list in April.
Workers transport soil containing rare earth elements for export at a port in Lianyungang, Jiangsu province, China in 2010.
BUSINESS / Markets
Jun 4, 2025
Global alarms rise as China's critical mineral export curbs take hold
China has a stranglehold on minerals crucial for sectors ranging from aerospace to semiconductors.
TSMC’s plan to build a second factory in Kumamoto Prefecture is key to Japan’s ambitions to regain leadership in semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 4, 2025
TSMC flags delays in Japan expansion while U.S. plans advance
The sudden influx of workers from TSMC’s first plant is already bogging down rural infrastructure in Japan.
Toyota plans to start the production of the GR Corolla compact car at its Burnaston plant in Britain in 2026.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 1, 2025
Toyota to build GR Corolla in Britain from 2026
The automaker hopes to utilize the surplus production capacity of the plant, which is capable of producing 150,000 vehicles annually at present.
The Bayan Obo mine containing rare earth minerals, in Inner Mongolia, China.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 31, 2025
Carmakers warn China's rare-earth curbs could halt production
Auto executives are sounding the alarm on an impending shortage of rare-earth magnets from China that could force the closure of factories within weeks.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

Podcast

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

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
By Alex K.T. Martin

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

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Smile! It’s ‘Sanrio Time,’ now and ever after

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