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May 29, 2025
 

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Nicholas Takahashi
Institutional Shareholder Services backed the reappointment of Chairman Akio Toyoda to Toyota’s board, reversing its position from a year ago.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
ISS reverses stance and backs Toyota chief's reappointment
"There are no particular concerns about the nominee,” Institutional Shareholder Services said of Akio Toyoda in a report Thursday.
A RAV4 model in 2018. The latest generation of the compact crossover available later this year comes equipped with a standard or plug-in hybrid powertrain, dropping the gas-powered option that makes up the bulk of current sales in the U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 21, 2025
Toyota takes all-hybrid plunge with its bestselling U.S. vehicle
Toyota has long been skeptical of the industry push to go all-in on fully electric vehicles, opting instead for a multipronged approach.
Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe says the company's investment plans for electric vehicles have been scaled back during a news conference in Tokyo Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 20, 2025
Honda walks back EV investment and sales targets on poor demand
Honda now sees hybrids accounting for 2.2 million of 3.6 million in global sales by 2030, up from the 2 million it previously saw.
Operating profit is forecast to land at around ¥500 billion ($3.4 billion) in the current fiscal year through March 2026, falling far short of analyst estimates of ¥1.35 trillion, Honda said Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Honda signals profit drop and warns of $3 billion tariff hit
Honda will have to go it alone after a tie-up with Nissan fell through as the global auto market is roiled by U.S. tariffs and intense competition in China.
A Nissan plug-in hybrid truck at the Shanghai Auto Show last month. Nissan is looking to invest in its China operations and use the nation’s intensely competitive market to accelerate its development of electric vehicles.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 9, 2025
Nissan drops plan for Fukuoka battery plant to focus on recovery
The carmaker has abandoned plans to build a battery plant in Fukuoka Prefecture to focus on rescuing itself from a deepening financial crisis.
Jun Seki, chief strategy officer of Hon Hai Precision Industry's electric vehicle business, speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on April 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 7, 2025
Hon Hai to make Mitsubishi an EV for Australia and New Zealand
The partnership makes Mitsubishi the first major customer for the Taiwanese contract manufacturer's fledgling EV business.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda proposed a buyout of Toyota Industries, seeking to consolidate his grip on Japan’s biggest business empire.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 28, 2025
Akio Toyoda's $42 billion buyout plan raises governance question
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda’s bid to buy out Toyota Industries could pit him against Japan’s efforts to reform its corporate landscape.
Toyota Motor’s sales rose 8% from a year earlier to 231,336 units, while Honda Motor recorded a 13% jump, according to data released Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 24, 2025
Japanese carmakers’ U.S. sales surge ahead of Trump tariffs
Toyota Motor’s sales rose 8% from a year earlier to 231,336 units, while Honda Motor recorded a 13% jump, according to data released Thursday.
Stephen Ma, the head of Nissan’s operations in China, speaks during a news conference at the Shanghai auto show on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 23, 2025
Nissan commits another $1.4 billion to China with EVs in focus
"With China moving so fast, we want to stay and we want to compete,” said Stephen Ma, the head of Nissan’s operations in China.
Executives from U.K. self-driving startup Wayve and SoftBank attend an event in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 22, 2025
U.K. AI startup Wayve makes Japan debut after Nissan partnership
Earlier this month, Wayve said it was joining forces with Nissan Motor to help build the next generation of its ProPilot driver-assist system.
Mazda will halt production of CX-50 sport utility vehicles destined for Canada at its Alabama plant effective May 12.
BUSINESS / Companies
Apr 18, 2025
Mazda to pause U.S. production of CX-50 cars destined for Canada
The Japanese automaker will halt production of CX-50 sport utility vehicles destined for Canada at its Alabama plant effective May 12.
Production of Honda’s five-door hybrid Civic is set to be relocated to the firm’s plant in Indiana in June or July.
BUSINESS
Apr 16, 2025
Honda to shift production of Civic from Japan to U.S. due to tariffs
Production of the five-door hybrid model will be relocated around June or July to Honda’s plant in Indiana.
Global sales, including that of subsidiaries Daihatsu Motor and Hino Motors, rose 2% from a year ago to 846,744 units, a record for the month of January, Toyota Motor said Thursday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 27, 2025
Toyota’s domestic sales rebound as it recovers from scandals
Despite unease in major markets and a dip in quarterly profit, Toyota raised its annual profit guidance for the fiscal year ending in March.
Nissan Chief Executive Officer Makoto Uchida during a news conference at the company’s global headquarters in Yokohama on Thursday
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 14, 2025
Honda and Nissan parting leaves both with unresolved problems
One needs scale to compete on the global stage, the other a lifeline to stay afloat.
Employees assemble D-Max trucks on an assembly line at Isuzu's Samrong Plant in Samut Prakan Province, Thailand, in March.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2025
Isuzu to build car plant in South Carolina as Trump tariffs loom
Isuzu plans to have the site up and running by 2027, aiming to employ more than 700 workers there by 2028 and produce 50,000 vehicles annually by 2030.
Nissan CEO Makoto Uchida (left) and Honda CEO Toshihiro Mibe during a news conference in December
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2025
Honda and Nissan results will highlight flaws as deal set to fail
The likely fallout of Honda’s short-lived alliance with Nissan spells trouble for both companies, but probably one more than the other.
Toyota is investing in increased capacity for electric vehicles and has unveiled plans to establish a subsidiary in Shanghai.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 5, 2025
Toyota raises annual profit guidance despite quarterly income drop
The automaker now expects a profit of ¥4.7 trillion ($31 billion) for the fiscal year ending March, up from its previous forecast of ¥4.3 trillion.
Motorcycles on display at the Honda pavilion at the Bangkok International Motor Show in Bangkok in March 2024
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 3, 2025
Honda’s motorcycle business is the gem in a messy Nissan union
Two-wheelers accounted for about 16% of Honda’s sales last fiscal year but an outsized 40% of its operating profit.
Honda and Nissan announced in December that they plan to unite both brands under a single holding company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 30, 2025
Case for Honda-Nissan tie-up strengthened as sales fall at both automakers
In the competitive China market, Nissan’s sales fell 12% last year while Honda saw a 30% decline.
Honda's electric two-wheeler concept models are on display at it's headquarters in Tokyo. Honda aims to capture half of the world’s motorbike market.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 28, 2025
Honda sets its sights on 50% share of world’s motorcycle market
The company's global motorcycle sales are forecast to reach 20.2 million for the fiscal year ending this March, which would give it a share of about 40%.
Lessons from India-Pakistan war: Were China's arms overrated?
A Chinese J-10B fighter jet is put on display at the China International Aviation & Aerospace Exhibition in Zhuhai, China, in October 2016. The short May conflict between India and Pakistan became a live trial for Chinese arms, exposing vulnerabilities in its fighter aircraft and air defense systems.
Luxury Tokyo penthouse sold for over $65 million in new record
Sales of luxury properties in Tokyo, like Azabudai Hills’ Aman Residences, have pushed up average real estate prices in the capital.
Golden share fix proposed for knotty Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal
Nippon Steel headquarters in Tokyo. The U.S. government is poised to receive a so-called golden share in U.S. Steel as a condition for approving Nippon Steel's proposed acquisition of the American company.
Japan loses top creditor status for first time in 34 years
Japan lost its position as the world’s largest creditor nation for the first time in 34 years despite posting a record amount of overseas assets, with Germany overtaking the country.
Onosato locks in promotion to yokozuna
Onosato speaks to reporters after receiving a report from the Yokozuna Deliberation Council, on Monday in Ami, Ibaraki Prefecture.
As ASEAN touts unity, Philippines seeks consensus on South China Sea
Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. (center), locks hands with Malaysian Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim (left) and Sultan of Brunei Hassanal Bolkiah during a group photo at an Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit in Kuala Lumpur on Monday.
Eagle nest discovery sparks opposition to megasolar project
The white-tailed eagle's wintering grounds include Hokkaido, northern Honshu, the Russian coast, the southern Kamchatka Peninsula and the Kuril Islands.
Fighters already showing last season's playoff run was no fluke
Fighters starter Hiromi Ito pitches against the Hawks in Fukuoka on April 29.
A moving meditation: Finding serenity in tea ceremony across space and time
Drawn to tea ceremony while volunteering at a Japanese garden in Phoenix, Arizona, Michele Laudig (right) came to learn a “common language of movement and ritual” that brought her into new communities in New York City and Tokyo.
Are microplastics hurting our fertility?
A worker sorts plastic waste for recycling at Minato Resource Recycle Center in Tokyo in 2019. Japan has been criticized by environmental groups for its strategy on plastics, which is heavily reliant on recycling instead of reduction.

Podcast

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

Longform

Construction equipment sits idle in a park near Shiba Toshogu shrine in Tokyo's Minato Ward. While Japan has a history of treating its trees with reverence, green coverage is said to be lacking in most of the major cities.
Do Japan's trees no longer occupy the sacred space they used to?
By Eric Margolis

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