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December 22, 2024
 

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Nicholas Takahashi
Nissan and Honda are exploring a merger, which would create a rival to Toyota Motor in Japan and better position the combined company to face competitive challenges around the world.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2024
Foxconn in talks with Nissan shareholder Renault, CNA says
Renault’s stake in Nissan is a holdover from a longstanding alliance between the French automaker, Nissan and Mitsubishi Motors.
Nissan Motor vehicles bound for shipment at the Nissan Oppama wharf in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 3, 2024
Nissan is awash in outdated models as car buyers look elsewhere
While Japan’s other major carmakers take six months or more to ship a new vehicle, many of Nissan’s most popular models can be delivered within a month or two.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 22, 2024
Nissan’s overly ambitious goals fuel investor and supplier distrust
Nissan’s latest outlook downgrade has shined a light on the Japanese carmaker’s tendency to overpromise and underdeliver.
A fund controlled by Effissimo Capital Management has taken a stake in Nissan Motor.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024
Nissan enters new era of turmoil as Effissimo takes stake
The big question is whether CEO Makoto Uchida can deliver a turnaround or be forced to make more drastic changes by an influential outsider.
Nissan’s filing said Suntera (Cayman) is the buyer of the 2.5% stake and listed Suntera as a trustee of ECM Master Fund.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2024
Nissan surges after firm linked to hedge fund takes 2.5% stake
The jump is a remarkable turnaround for Nissan’s stock, which plunged last week after the carmaker slashed jobs and said it would cut manufacturing capacity by a fifth.
Nissan sees its operating income plunging to just ¥150 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, down 70% from its previous forecast.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 7, 2024
Nissan cuts outlook and announces restructuring with 9,000 job cuts
The firm sees its operating income plunging to ¥150 billion in the fiscal year ending in March, down 70% from its previous forecast.
Toyota posted its first quarterly profit drop in two years, as slowing sales and production volume stalled the world's top-selling automaker's recent record run.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024
Toyota keeps profit outlook despite weakness in Japan and China
The carmaker showed signs of recovery from domestic scandals in Japan and major recalls in the United States.
Seiji Izumisawa, the CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, said at a briefing that while currency fluctuations and inflation make the future unpredictable, strong order intakes are encouraging.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Mitsubishi Heavy net income falls, but orders still solid
Shares in the company fell 2.5% Tuesday after it reported that net income for the June-September period failed to meet analysts’ average estimate.
Toyota's worldwide production fell for an eighth straight month in September, as both sales and output declined in its two biggest markets, the United States and China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024
Toyota sales fall in Japan and China, as hybrid demand grows in U.S.
Toyota’s sales in Japan shrank nearly 17% this year between January and September.
Ryuichi Isaka, CEO of Seven & I Holdings, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo in April. Isaka is now assuring investors that the group's revenue will likely almost double by the 2030 fiscal year.
BUSINESS
Oct 24, 2024
Facing buyout bid, Seven & I tells investors sales will double by 2030
The retailer aims to reach ¥30 trillion in group sales by the 2030 fiscal year, with a greater contribution from convenience-store operations in markets abroad.
Debt-laden companies in Japan are rapidly growing in number, in some measures even faster than in 1992 after the collapse of its asset price bubble.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 22, 2024
Zombie companies may finally succumb to bankruptcy on BOJ hikes
Bankruptcies topped 5,000 cases for the first time in a decade between April and September, a report by Tokyo Shoko Research showed earlier this month.
A Toyota Rav-4 Prime charges at an electric vehicle charging station in New York on Sept. 3. Toyota's sales fell again in August after declines in Japan and China put an end to a short-lived recovery.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 27, 2024
Toyota production falls on vehicle safety scandals and U.S. recalls
Global output, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, dropped in August by 12.6% from a year earlier
The Jeep Avenger fully electric compact utility car debuted in Japan on Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 26, 2024
Jeep’s compact EV debuts in Japan as imported EVs take the lead
In Japan, gasoline and hybrid gas-electric cars remain the dominant powertrains of choice for local consumers.
Toyota added ¥200 billion to a ¥1 trillion stock repurchase plan announced in May, according to an exchange filing Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 24, 2024
Toyota raises buyback to ¥1.2 trillion, citing share levels
The carmaker’s operating profit for the three months ended June 30 was ¥1.31 trillion, 17% higher than a year earlier.
Panasonic’s 4680 cylindrical lithium-ion cell
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024
Panasonic ready to start making next-gen EV cells at Japan plant
The site will become the main facility for production of Panasonic’s 4680 cylindrical lithium-ion cell with output beginning as soon as a final evaluation is completed.
Toyota's hybrids are selling well in North America, making up for sluggish demand for its vehicles in Japan and China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 1, 2024
Toyota quarterly profit rises 17% on year as weak yen drives U.S. demand
Despite ongoing turmoil from a government probe that found issues with vehicle certifications, analysts still project the carmaker will post a record profit this year.
Toyota's global sales declined 4.7% in the first half of this year compared to the same period the year before.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 30, 2024
Toyota first-half sales fell even as hybrids and EVs gained in U.S.
Toyota’s global output — including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors — dropped 9.8% versus the first six months of 2023 to about 5 million units.
Toyota Customizing & Development, a Toyota subsidiary, broke the subcontract payment law, the Fair Trade Commission said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jul 5, 2024
Toyota unit violated subcontractor protection law: regulator
Yokohama-based Toyota Customizing & Development broke the law by having dozens of suppliers store metal die casts and other items without paying any storage fees.
Shareholders at Toyota's annual general meeting, held in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, on June 18
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 26, 2024
Toyota chair's pay raised to $10 million despite safety probe
The total made Akio Toyoda the highest paid Japanese executive for a third straight year.
A BYD Seal electric sedan displayed in Tokyo on Tuesday
BUSINESS / Companies
Jun 25, 2024
BYD releases third EV in Japan as sales struggle to take off
Overall, BYD's sales in Japan fell 26% in April from a year earlier, and 28% in May.
Record 78% of people in Japan feel anxious, government survey finds
The public opinion survey on people's lives, conducted by the Cabinet Office, found that 28.1% of respondents think that their standard of living is at a lower-middle level among the general public — the highest percentage to give that response in 35 years.
Police raided suspect's home to arrest him after fatal Kitakyushu stabbing
Broken window glass is seen at Masanori Hirabaru's house in Kitakyushu's Kokuraminami Ward.
Taiwan lawmakers brawl over bills that would 'damage democracy'
Lawmakers from the Democratic Progressive Party and opposition party Kuomintang brawl in parliament in Taipei on Friday.
Ride-hailing restrictions to be eased during 2025 Osaka Expo
A venue for the 2025 Osaka Expo in the city of Osaka
Foxconn's interest in Nissan said to be on hold amid Honda merger talks
Foxconn’s pause in its pursuit of Nissan is the latest development in the unexpected emergence of two suitors for the ailing Japanese carmaker.
Japanese officials inspect Yokota Air Base over PFAS concerns
The Yokota Air Base in western Tokyo in September 2019. An inspection of the base by Japanese government officials on Friday came amid public pressure to investigate suspected links between the use of PFAS-containing firefighting foam by the U.S. base and contamination of soil and groundwater in western Tokyo.
Crime numbers rise in Japan for second straight year
A police officer stands in front of the residence of a man alleged to have stabbed two junior high school students in Kitakyushu.
A year of Oscar wins and a quiet push for diversity
Ryusuke Hamaguchi’s “Evil Does Not Exist,” released in Japanese theaters in April, sharply dramatizes the clash between rural and urban values. The film won five awards at the 2023 Venice Film Festival, including the second-place Silver Lion prize.
Curiosity didn’t kill the meme: Why cats still rule Japanese YouTube
A screen shot from YouTube user @lagelda shows the simplicity of going viral in Japan in 2024: A cat dancing to EDM in front of a green screen.

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