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July 07, 2025
 

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MANUFACTURING

Volkswagen Chief Executive Officer Oliver Blume speaks at a Volkswagen media event in Beijing on April 24.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024
From peace-maker to taboo-breaker, VW boss Blume takes on the unions
Volkswagen disclosed it was not only planning to scrap a 30-year old job security plan, but weighing the closure of plants in Germany.
Beyond losing the American market, China is losing some of its own manufacturing companies, which are shifting parts of their production to countries such as Vietnam and Mexico to avoid U.S. tariffs.
COMMENTARY / World
Sep 4, 2024
The rise and coming fall of Chinese manufacturing
Despite China's significant investments in technology, the decline of its manufacturing sector seems inevitable.
U.S. Steel's Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 4, 2024
U.S. Steel to remain American-led, Nippon Steel says
The Japanese firm said post-acquisition the majority of U.S. Steel's board of directors and all members of core senior management would be U.S. citizens.
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo. Nippon Steel said last month that it would make an additional investment of about $1.3 billion in U.S. Steel following the takeover.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024
Nippon Steel defends its U.S. Steel bid after Harris' opposition
Nippon Steel released a statement Tuesday arguing that the Japanese firm's planned acquisition of U.S. Steel would benefit the United States.
The logo of German carmaker Volkswagen at the main plant of the group in Wolfsburg, northern Germany, in March 2022. German automotive giant Volkswagen said Monday that it could close production sites in Germany as the auto industry struggles to manage rising costs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024
Volkswagen weighs first-ever German plant closures amid EV transition woes
Profit margins at the carmaker's underperforming passenger car brand are getting squeezed amid the shift to EVs and a consumer spending slowdown.
In the first quarter of fiscal 2024, the combined profits at both the manufacturing and nonmanufacturing sectors marked record highs.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 3, 2024
Japanese companies mark record combined profits in April-June
Nonfinancial companies' internal reserves at the end of fiscal 2023 grew 8.3% from a year earlier, topping ¥600 trillion for the first time.
U.S. Vice President Kamala Harris, the Democratic presidential nominee, speaks during a campaign event she attended with U.S. President Joe Biden at IBEW Local Union 5 in Pittsburgh on Monday.
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2024
Harris says U.S. Steel should remain American owned and run
It’s not clear whether a decision on the takeover will land on U.S. President Joe Biden’s desk or that of his successor — or even if it will proceed at all.
Used cars are sold at high prices at a dealership in Nagoya as a surge in export demand has reduced supply on the domestic market.
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional voices: Chubu
Sep 2, 2024
Japanese businesses grapple with exchange rate swings
For the used car sector, the weaker yen has resulted in buyers being forced to pay higher prices due to increased export demand.
Factory activity in China contracted for a fourth straight month in August, with subindexes showing deepening deflationary pressures.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 2, 2024
China faces calls for stimulus as growth engines stall amid property woes
Factory activity contracted for a fourth month in August, with subindexes showing deflationary pressures and latest sales figures showing a worsening residential slump.
Nippon Steel Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2024
Nippon Steel, peers urge Tokyo to curb steel imports from China
China's steel exports rose 24% to 53.4 million tons in the first half of 2024, on track for 100 million tons for the year.
Cars are assembled at a Maruti Suzuki manufacturing plant in Manesar, India, in September 2023. Suzuki is one of the success stories for Japanese manufacturers trying to establish joint ventures in India, having become a household name in the country.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 29, 2024
For Japanese companies in India, local staff are an invaluable resource
The roots of Japanese investment in India go far back, to 1958, when the latter became the first country to receive official development assistance from Japan.
A train carrying steel slabs leaves the U.S. Steel Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2024
Nippon Steel woos U.S. union with extra $1.3 billion investment
The United Steelworkers union has so far opposed a corporate tie-up with U.S. Steel.
He Xiaopeng, co-founder and chief executive officer of XPeng, speaks at a launch event for the company's Mona M03 electric vehicle in Beijing on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 28, 2024
China’s Xpeng aims to expand with mass-market cars and Europe production
The company also plans to set up a large-scale data center in Europe as efficient software collection becomes paramount for cars’ intelligent driving features.
A boy pushes a biped robot developed by LimX Dynamics at the World Robot Conference in Beijing on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 23, 2024
China's robot makers chase Tesla to deliver humanoid workers
The Asian giant's push into the emerging industry draws from the formula behind its initial electric vehicle drive more than a decade ago.
A lithium battery factory following a deadly fire in Hwaseong, South Korea, on June 24
ASIA PACIFIC
Aug 23, 2024
Safety failures caused deadly fire at South Korea plant, police say
Twenty-three people were killed at an Aricell lithium battery plant in South Korea in a massive blaze in June.
A Mitsubishi Electric employee prepares a robotic arm for a demonstration of the firm's artificial intelligence technologies.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 23, 2024
Mitsubishi Electric fights to keep up with AI data center demand
The Tokyo-based maker of factory automation is a key supplier of optic fiber communication devices that link servers to one another.
The ability of Xi Jinping's government to control China's industrial overcapacity crisis is limited, and stimulating domestic demand is difficult amid geopolitical tensions.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 21, 2024
Xi’s supply-side panacea has lost its magic
China’s excess capacity problem will have to fester until even its industry leaders call it quits. That may be some years away.
The Finance Ministry will apply foreign trade regulations to chipmaking equipment, requiring foreign investors to give prior notice when conducting direct investment in the sector.
BUSINESS
Aug 16, 2024
Japanese government tightens grip on chip supply-chain network
The move comes as Japan tries to revive its own capacity to produce semiconductors as a pillar of its economic security strategy.
The central square of the Czech town Roznov pod Radhostem, which has about 16,000 inhabitants
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 14, 2024
The sleepy Czech town helping Europe compete in the global chip war
In Roznov, about 2,200 Onsemi employees make 10 million chips a day for car, industrial and telecommunications customers.
U.S. President Donald Trump and SpaceX and Tesla CEO Elon Musk in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on May 30, 2020
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 13, 2024
Musk scorns subsidies, but Tesla still lobbies for U.S. benefits
Despite Musk's gradual embrace of Trump, the company continues to lobby the U.S. and state governments for benefits championed by the Democratic Party.
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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Ishii Iron Works remakes self for workers, new energy

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