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July 05, 2026
 

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MANUFACTURING

Nippon Steel’s pursuit of U.S. Steel may succeed thanks to a U.S. veto-wielding golden share, but the high costs, political concessions and strategic risks suggest the deal could end up being a costly misstep.
COMMENTARY / Japan
May 30, 2025
Stop the steel! Japan’s giving too much away in this deal.
Nippon Steel risks handcuffing itself giving Trump a golden share.
U.S. Steel Edgar Thompson Works in Pennsylvania
BUSINESS / Economy
May 29, 2025
Trump’s Nippon Steel bid support boosts Japan’s trade talk hopes
The apparent breakthrough raises the possibility that Japan could get some new traction in its bid to get tariffs on autos and other exports removed.
An employee of Nissan Motor works on a Leaf electric car on an assembly line at its Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture.
BUSINESS
May 29, 2025
Factory that symbolized Nissan’s rise may become victim of its decline
Nissan faces a mountain of debt repayment and is scrambling to upgrade its aging lineup of vehicles, but hasn’t said which of its 17 plants will be closed.
Apple's Fifth Avenue store in New York on May 23
BUSINESS / Tech
May 28, 2025
Apple reels from share selloff as Trump’s 25% tariff threat drives uncertainty
Some are skeptical the tariffs will come to pass, but any such measures would require Apple to absorb costs or raise prices, eroding demand.
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.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 28, 2025
Golden share fix proposed for knotty Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal
The plan would give the U.S. government a veto over certain company decisions.
A United States Steel plant in River Rouge, Michigan. The guessing game continues as to what a "partnership" between Nippon Steel and U.S. Steel, as announced by U.S. President Donald Trump, actually entails.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025
Even Nippon Steel is unsure about what a ‘partnership’ with U.S. Steel means
U.S. President Donald Trump’s plan for the steelmakers has left the markets guessing and the participants keen to remain mum.
U.S. President Donald Trump says U.S. Steel will be "controlled by the United States, otherwise I wouldn’t make the deal” on what he called a "partnership" with Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 26, 2025
Trump backing for Nippon Steel deal comes with big questions
The U.S. leader’s unexpected announcement stopped short of explicitly endorsing Nippon Steel’s proposed takeover, instead asserting that U.S. Steel would “remain American.”
An employee of Kyowa Industrial walks next to the company's factory in Takasaki, Gunma Prefecture, in April.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 24, 2025
Tariff crossfire hits Toyota, Nissan and Ford suppliers in Japan
Thousands of small and midsize makers of auto parts in Japan, including suppliers for Toyota and Nissan, are facing a crisis as U.S. tariffs threaten their bottom lines.
The Committee on Foreign Investment in the U.S. on Wednesday submitted a recommendation to President Donald Trump on Nippon Steel's fraught $14.9 billion bid for U.S. Steel, a person familiar with the matter said, without providing further detail on its contents.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 23, 2025
U.S. panel submits view on Nippon Steel-U.S. Steel deal to Trump
Trump will now have 15 days to decide the fate of the transaction, although the timeline could slip.
Seasonally adjusted core machinery orders in March rose 13% from the previous month, growing for the second consecutive month.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 22, 2025
Core machinery orders grew for second straight month in March
The government agency kept its basic assessment unchanged, saying that machinery orders are showing signs of picking up.
A CATL recruitment advertisement in Germany
BUSINESS / Tech
May 21, 2025
CATL’s $2 billion German plant boosts China’s invest-abroad bet
“I see ourselves as a blueprint for Chinese companies who are looking to expand in Europe,” said Matthias Zentgraf, the battery giant’s European president.
China’s Made in China 2025 program set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, initial assessments conclude it had mixed success but maintain its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
COMMENTARY / World
May 20, 2025
Ten years of Made in China 2025 sees mixed success
MIC2025 set an ambitious agenda, and a decade later, early reviews say it has had mixed success but maintain that its goals will shape Chinese policy for years to come.
Employees work on the production line of American infant product and toy manufacturer Kids II at a factory in Jiujiang, in China's Jiangxi province, in June 2021.
BUSINESS / Economy
May 19, 2025
China consumption miss overshadows factory strength amid tariffs
Despite the resilience of factories, weaker consumption for April points to the need for more supportive policies as economists warn of complacency after a 90-day pause on tariffs.
Nissan's Oppama plant in Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, may be closed as part of the struggling carmaker's streamlining efforts.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 18, 2025
Nissan to solicit early retirements while eyeing plant closures in Japan
The move comes after sources said a day earlier that the carmaker was considering closing two plants in Kanagawa Prefecture.
Panasonic may be poised to benefit from having factories in the U.S. as Tesla and others seek to reduce their reliance on Chinese battery-makers.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 14, 2025
Panasonic CEO says battery plans align with slower EV demand
The supplier of lithium-ion batteries to Tesla is getting ready to start production at a second U.S.-based factory in Kansas, but has frozen plans for a third plant.
Nissan CEO Ivan Espinosa in Tokyo as the company releases its results
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Nissan gets ‘wake-up call’ with $4.5 billion annual net loss
The company plans more than 10,000 job cuts globally in addition to the 9,000 cuts announced previously.
Overall net profit is expected to go down 42.9% from the previous year to ¥200 billion at Nippon Steel, 18.4% to ¥75 billion at JFE Holdings and 16.8% to ¥100 billion at Kobe Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
May 13, 2025
Three major Japan steelmakers say they expect profit falls in fiscal 2025
Overall net profit is expected to go down 42.9% from the previous year to ¥200 billion at Nippon Steel, 18.4% to ¥75 billion at JFE and 16.8% to ¥100 billion at Kobe Steel.
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung adjusts some of the toys on display at his office in Union City, California, on May 8. His company manufactures toys in China for clients in the U.S., Canada and Europe.
BUSINESS / Markets
May 13, 2025
Tariffs crippled U.S.-owned factory in China that made toys for Walmart
Huntar Company CEO Jason Cheung says his company would survive if tariffs come down quickly. If they don’t, he’d lose everything.
A humanoid robot walks as an employee conducts tests, on the production line at the AgiBot factory in Shanghai on March 20.
BUSINESS / Tech
May 13, 2025
China’s AI-powered humanoid robots aim to transform manufacturing
Beijing is aiming for a new industrial revolution where many factory tasks would be performed by humanoid robots.
U.S. President Donald Trump’s tariffs on cars and car parts imported to the U.S. have been painful to most global brands, but crippling in Nissan’s case.
BUSINESS
May 13, 2025
Nissan shares surge as carmaker set to cut 20,000 jobs in huge overhaul
The heavily indebted company, one of the top 10 automakers by unit sales, is expected to log a record annual loss of around $5 billion later in the day.
‘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 plans to sharply raise fees for residence permits from October
Foreign tourists walk on the path leading to the Kiyomizu Temple in Kyoto in May.
Japan’s princesses face life-altering legal revisions
Princess Aiko, the daughter of Emperor Naruhito, said in a 2022 news conference upon coming of age that she hopes to “spend a long time together” with her parents.
Japanese police arrest nine over Sierra Leone-based special fraud
Japanese police have arrested nine individuals for their alleged involvement in a special fraud case using Sierra Leone as a base.
Japanese-language education is at a turning point
The country is gradually transforming Japanese-language education from a volunteer-driven system into a professional, government-supported network to better serve its growing foreign population. 
Iran war exposed, but hasn’t changed, Japan’s reliance on imported oil
Wind turbines generate energy from strong easterly winds on the Shonai Plain in Yamagata Prefecture. Despite the oil crisis caused by conflict near the Strait of Hormuz, and concerns instability in the region could continue to impact supply and the price of imports, the administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi does not seem to be drawing on the war as a pretext to hasten progress toward Japan's renewable goals.
Six of the best: rikishi of note in each sumo division
Kazuma (right) faces off against future <i>yokozuna</i> Onosato during the All Japan Amateur Sumo Championships at the Ryogoku Kokugikan in Tokyo in December 2020.
Some startups see opportunity in an aging Japan
Yasmin Baba, CTO of Amilis, wins the Grand Prize at the Pitch2Tokyo Grand Final on Feb. 19.
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.

Podcast

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