Tag - manufacturing

 
 

MANUFACTURING

BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2023
Rapidus breaks ground on key Hokkaido chip factory
Rapidus aims to position itself as a prominent worldwide supplier of cutting-edge 2-nanometer-wide semiconductors.
An Airbus A350 XWB passenger aircraft on the final assembly line at the Airbus factory in Toulouse, France
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 1, 2023
Fake spare parts were supplied to fix top-selling jet engine
The spread of undocumented or potentially faked parts into the engine supply chain is rare and treated with utmost urgency in the industry.
Semiconductors are expected to be a focal point when U.S. President Joe Biden visits Hanoi later this month with the goal of formally elevating ties between the two countries.
BUSINESS / Tech / ANALYSIS
Sep 1, 2023
Vietnam's engineer shortage stalls U.S. chip hub plans
An engineer gap in Vietnam is becoming a major obstacle to the growth of its semiconductor industry and U.S. supply chain strategies.
Manufacturing machinery and electronic components were among the biggest drags on Japan's industrial output in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Aug 31, 2023
Japan output drops in July as global slowdown reverberates
Factory output declined 2% from June, the industry ministry said Thursday.
A customer browses iPhone cases at an Apple store in India.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 31, 2023
Apple trials making devices with 3D printers
The move could reduce the time it takes to build devices while also helping the environment by using less material, according to the sources.
Toyota's sales in China fell in July amid intense competition with local brands.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 30, 2023
Toyota output hits monthly record for July on robust demand
Worldwide sales, including for subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino, rose 5.2% to 918,345 units.
A Toyota factory in Toyota, Aichi Prefecture, in 2015. A computer system processing orders for vehicle parts for the company broke down Tuesday, forcing the closure of 14 assembly plants in Japan.
BUSINESS / EXPLAINER
Aug 30, 2023
What happened to shut down Toyota's production in Japan?
Disruption shut down a system at the core of Toyota's lean manufacturing process.
An efficient, just-in-time strategy for manufacturing made Toyota’s production system famous.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Aug 30, 2023
Toyota shuts factories, investors shrug. That’s resilience.
An efficient, just-in-time strategy for manufacturing made Toyota’s production system famous.
Artificial intelligence may well enable the automation of many tasks and the replacement of some workers. But AI tools are still fallible and are unlikely to replace humans any time soon.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 30, 2023
AI and the productivity imperative
The global economic outlook for the next decade appears grim. But a surge in productivity — fueled by artificial intelligence — could change that picture.
Toyota Motor has suspended operations at a dozen factories in Japan due to a system failure.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 29, 2023
Toyota set to resume operations after glitch halts production
Tuesday's halt raised concerns that the stoppage could be due to a cyberattack, though the company said that was unlikely.
Eiko Higuchi at her microphone production station at Sony Taiyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 25, 2023
A tiny factory is handcrafting mics for Justin Bieber and Dr. Dre
Sony Taiyo, a Sony Group subsidiary, is designed to give people with disabilities a fair chance in the workplace.
People visit Semicon China, a trade fair for semiconductor technology, in Shanghai in 2021
BUSINESS
Aug 24, 2023
China quietly hires overseas chip talent as U.S. tightens curbs
The revamped recruitment drive is said to offer perks including home-purchase subsidies and typical signing bonuses of $420,000 to $700,000.
A worker cleans a Toyota Electric Vehicle bZ4X on display during the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show in Tangerang, near Jakarta, Indonesia, last week.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 17, 2023
Japan automakers race to catch up with global EV competitors
There is a sense of crisis over a possible decline of Japan's auto industry if U.S., European and Chinese automakers continue to dominate the EV market.
Hitachi CEO Keiji Kojima. The company’s metamorphosis belies the argument that the bastions of Japan Inc. are set forever in their ways.
BUSINESS / Companies
Aug 4, 2023
Hitachi reinvents itself in sign of hope for Japan
The old-school conglomerate revamped its governance, shrank its empire to focus on growth and evolved into a more global enterprise.
Akira Amari, Japan's chip czar, has said that funding around one-third of the cost of a chip plant is the norm, and the 50% funding for Japan's first TSMC chip plant was unusually high.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2023
Chip minister hints Japan to fund one-third of second TSMC plant
The subsidies will be part of Japan’s efforts to revive its domestic chipmaking industry, a sector viewed as crucial for growth and economic security.
Japan's industrial production in June climbed 2% from the previous month, led by brisk output of new automobiles amid strong demand at home and abroad.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2023
Japan’s production rebounds, signaling continued modest recovery
Factory output rose 2% from the previous month, rebounding from the previous month and led by increases in cars and electronic devices.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2023
What has become of global carmakers' assets in Russia?
The foreign automakers that dominated Russia's car market left following the invasion of Ukraine, leaving a slumping production and sales in their wake.
Japan Times
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 18, 2023
AI is helping create the chips that design AI chips
The human role in artificial intelligence development is slowly being handed over to machines and algorithms.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Tech
Jul 18, 2023
As 'Detroit of Asia,' Thailand targets battery-makers to stay ahead in EV race
Long established as an auto hub, Thailand is determined to keep its grip on the economically crucial industry as the pivot to electric vehicles gathers pace.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / Regional Voices: Hiroshima
Jul 17, 2023
Micron’s huge Hiroshima investment amid job cuts leaves unanswered questions
Micron plans to reduce its global workforce by 10% this year. In May, several hundred people are believed to have left the Hiroshima plant, which had about 3,700 workers as of last November.

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Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone.
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan