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July 02, 2026
 

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MANUFACTURING

Employees work on the production line at a factory of Chinese electric vehicle (EV) maker Nio in Hefei, Anhui province, China, on April 2.
BUSINESS
Dec 3, 2025
China floods the world with gasoline cars it can’t sell at home
The phenomenon highlights the far-reaching impacts of Chinese industrial policy, as foreign competitors struggle to keep pace with government-backed firms.
Takahiro Mori, vice chairman of Nippon Steel, speaks at a news conference in Tokyo in June. Mori said in a recent interview that the firm will shortlist two or three states for construction of a major new plant in the United States.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 2, 2025
Nippon Steel to shortlist two or three states for new U.S. plant
Japan’s largest steel producer is seeking a site capable of supporting a plant with 3 million tons of annual capacity.
The Japan Council of Metalworkers' Unions says it will demand the same level of pay scale hike as what was sought last year, which was the highest since it moved to the current way of requesting pay scale hikes by specifying amounts.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 27, 2025
Key labor group to seek pay scale hike of at least ¥12,000 per month
Despite concerns over impacts on corporate earnings from high U.S. tariffs, the Japan Council of Metalworkers’ Unions aims to realize wage increases above inflation.
Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.'s fabrication plant in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Under a possible new arrangement, Taiwanese companies, including TSMC, would send new capital and workers to expand their U.S. operations and train U.S. workers.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2025
Trump team negotiating Taiwan deal that could train U.S. workers, sources say
Trump has previously said some skilled foreign workers may be necessary to train Americans in state-of-the-art factories.
Rapidus is planning to build a second plant in Hokkaido to produce next-generation microchips, according to local media reports.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2025
Rapidus plans second cutting-edge chip plant: reports
The aim is to produce next-generation 1.4-nanometer microchips as soon as 2029, the reports said.
A Volkswagen ID. UNYX electric vehicle is showcased at a media event in Beijing in 2024. The company is looking to boost profits in China by producing cars entirely within the country.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2025
Volkswagen says it can now make cars entirely in China
German carmakers have come under intense pressure from local competitors in China in recent years, with worldwide sales and profits suffering amid their slump in China.
A truck waits outside of the gate of Nexperia factory amid a shortage of chip supply caused by the diplomatic standoff between China and the Netherlands over the company, in Dongguan, Guangdong province, China, on Nov. 7.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 24, 2025
How the Nexperia chip crisis upended auto supply chains — again
A factory in China’s industrial south has become a global choke point for automotive chips, upending a sector that swore it wouldn’t be caught again by supply-chain disruptions.
Chinese leader Xi Jinping
JAPAN
Nov 20, 2025
Xi risks global blowback if China cuts off rare earths for Japan
Rare earths are a lever that China has used against Japan before.
A Toyota manufacturing plant in Kentucky, U.S.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2025
Toyota lays out $912 million plan to boost U.S. hybrid production
The plan forms part of a broader $10 billion commitment in the United States over the next five years.
A worker checks the inventory of rolls of sheet aluminum in Sevojno, Serbia, in 2022.
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 18, 2025
World’s top aluminum producer adds markups as Trump tariffs drive up consumer costs
Rio Tinto Group cited low inventories for imposing the extra charge on aluminum bound for the U.S.
Currently, about 2,400 employees are engaged in vehicle production at Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 15, 2025
Nissan to set up panel with union over Oppama plant shutdown
The committee will hold its first meeting as early as this month to discuss measures for current workers, such as transferring them to a subsidiary.
Elliott Investment Management has shared its views with Toyota Industries management that the ¥16,300 per share buyout offer is too low and suggested other options for the deal, people familiar with the matter say.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 12, 2025
Elliott takes Toyota Industries stake and sees buyout price as too low
Toyota Industries disclosed in a filing that Elliott Investment Management had a 3.26% stake as of Sept. 30, making it one of the manufacturer’s biggest shareholders.
The Olympus Ishikawa research development facility in Tokyo
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 9, 2025
Olympus cuts jobs, streamlines operations under new leadership
The company is moving to a leaner, divisional model, with a planned target of 3% annual sales growth by fiscal 2027.
Toyota's Chief Financial Officer Kenta Kon (right) speaks during a news conference in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2025
Toyota hikes profit forecasts ‘despite the impact of U.S. tariffs’
The firm’s share price fell by as much as 5% in Tokyo, however, as the new guidance fell short of market estimates.
The United States Steel Edgar Thomson Works steel mill in Braddock, Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2025
U.S. Steel says Japanese ownership to unlock $3 billion in value
Nippon Steel had acquired U.S. Steel for $14.1 billion in June, and agreed to invest $11 billion in the Pittsburgh-based company by 2028.
An employee works with a wafer in a production line of Dutch semiconductor company Nexperia in Hamburg, Germany, in June 2024.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 1, 2025
U.S. to announce Nexperia’s China facilities will resume shipments
Resumed shipments would be a relief for auto manufacturers worldwide who faced the imminent prospect of curbing production.
Two robots automating tasks at Arikawa Seisakusho in Kanazawa, Ishikawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS / Companies / FOCUS
Oct 31, 2025
Government to help rural businesses adopt robots amid labor shortage
Aimed at boosting productivity despite labor shortages, a new group will train advisers to help companies introduce and use robotics effectively.
Honda has halted production at its Mexico plant due to a semiconductor shortage caused by supply disruptions from Netherlands-headquartered Chinese chipmaker Nexperia, officials said.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2025
Honda halts production at Mexico plant amid chip shortage
The Japanese automaker is making arrangements to resume operations, but the timeline for that remains unclear.
Nidec's Qingdao Industrial Park in China. The Tokyo Stock Exchange has designated Nidec as a "security on special alert" for a possible delisting.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 28, 2025
Nidec faces delisting risk as Tokyo Stock Exchange boosts scrutiny
The move by the exchange may deal another blow to Nidec’s shares, which have tumbled roughly 20% since the start of September as its accounting issues came to light.
Solar panels at the Baofeng Agriculture-Photovoltaic Integration Industrial Base near Yinchuan, Ningxia autonomous region, China
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 27, 2025
China’s solar self-discipline spurs turnaround at silicon makers
The recovery saw a 50% surge in polysilicon prices after Beijing began lambasting cutthroat atmosphere in tech sectors such as solar.
Japan triples departure tax in push to combat overtourism
Tourists in Yanaka Ginza, Tokyo, on Wednesday. Japan tripled its International Tourist Tax (departure tax) to ¥3,000 from ¥1,000 on Wednesday for all travelers leaving Japan, regardless of nationality.
More facilities in Japan placing sanitary bins in men’s restrooms
A sanitary bin with an awareness sticker placed in a men's restroom in the Nagasaki Municipal Government building
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
‘My dream is broken’: Japan visa rules push out foreign residents
A man orders from a kebab shop in the Okubo district in Tokyo.
Japan’s fertility system offers few safe paths for same-sex couples
A Tokyo Pride parade participant holds a sign that says "we want to be a married couple, not a couple."
Life inside Japan’s largest prison for women
Western-style rooms spanning the size of four tatami mats with hardwood floors, a toilet and soft mattresses on bed frames are designated for foreign nationals and those with health conditions at Tochigi Prison.
Inside Japan’s rigid adoption system, a British family finds a way
James Benstead, his wife, Jesse, and their three children. Their adopted son is in the rear stroller.
A French ship with close ties to Japan combines arts and sciences on the high seas
Romain Troublé, the executive director of Tara Ocean Foundation, speaks to visitors aboard the Tara during a rare port call in Tokyo in April.
In Kyushu’s far south, Senti.U sparks a culinary destination
Chef Yasuhiko Uchida was born in Saga Prefecture but has made his home in Kanoya, Kagoshima Prefecture, since 2012.

Podcast

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

Longform

The Terasaka Rice Terraces are seen with Mount Buko in the background.
What Yokoze can teach Japan about rural revival
By Alex K.T. Martin

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