A man places a sign outside a Tesla dealership during a protest against its CEO Elon Musk, in Los Angeles, California, last month.
BUSINESS / Companies / ANALYSIS
Apr 4, 2025
Tesla investors brace for further sales decline as Musk backlash grows
Protests in many countries against Musk's involvement in the Trump administration and far-right politics in Europe have tarnished the image of the once-leading EV brand.
Aeon has released a ¥321 ($2.20) frozen bento boxed meal containing peperoncino pasta and a hamburger steak with tomato sauce, which went on sale on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2025
Japan retailers boost own-brand products amid inflation
Private-label products, which retailers develop with manufacturers, can be sold at lower prices than those of name-brand products because of reduced costs.
Suntory President Nobuhiro Torii says the company has the option of simply changing the target market if prices of Hibiki and Yamazaki become up too high for U.S. consumers.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2025
Suntory may shift focus to Japan, Asian markets to counter U.S. tariffs
Its president, Nobuhiro Torii, says it has the option of simply changing the target market if prices for its whiskeys become too high for American consumers.
Sumitomo Mitsui Banking is in talks to provide corporate client data to Fujitsu to run through the IT company’s multimodal machine learning tools to make business forecasts.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 3, 2025
SMBC and Fujitsu to partner on AI-driven forecasting services
The move would be a rare instance of a Japanese bank allowing another company access to sensitive customer data.
New vehicles parked at a pier in Yokohama on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
'Give me a break': Trump tariffs threaten Japan auto sector
The 5.6 million people employed directly or indirectly in the auto sector are now fearful about their future.
Aeon launches blended rice "Nisui no Takumi" on Wednesday in the city of Chiba.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Retailer Aeon to sell Japan-U.S. blended rice
Under the name "Nisui no Takumi," the blended rice will be sold from around April 10 at some 2,000 stores across Japan except the Hokkaido and the Tohoku region.
Rapidus is gearing up to mass produce semiconductors using 2-nanometer processes in 2027, which on paper would match Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 2, 2025
Rapidus begins pilot production of 2-nanometer chips in Hokkaido
The 2-year-old company aims to mass produce the next-generation semiconductors — vital for technologies such as artificial intelligence and autonomous driving — in 2027.

Longform

An ongoing shortage of rice has resulted in rising prices for Japan's main food staple.
Why Japan is running out of rice — and farmers to grow it