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July 04, 2026
 

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MANUFACTURING

Sharp's plant in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, that has ceased production of large liquid crystal display panels for television, a symbolic end to the company's signature business.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 1, 2024
Sharp marks end of era with halt to large LCD panel production
Now owned by a Taiwanese investor, Sharp has also scaled back production of small and medium-sized LCD panels used in smartphones and personal computers.
The industry ministry plans to provide aid of up to ¥70.5 billion to auto parts maker Denso and Fuji Electric for the joint production of power semiconductors.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 29, 2024
Denso and Fuji Electric to get government aid for power chips
Although Japanese companies have a large share of the global power semiconductor market, production volume per maker is smaller compared with European and U.S. peers.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's direct approach appears to mark a shift in the Japanese government's stance on the deal.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 26, 2024
Ishiba urges Biden to approve Nippon-U.S. Steel deal, sources say
The prime minister sent a letter asking the U.S. president to avoid marring recent efforts to strengthen ties between the two countries.
Four House Republicans wrote to Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo on Friday, saying that recent developments related to the Committee on Foreign Investment in the United States (CFIUS) "have called into question the integrity of its decision-making process,” and demanding the preservation of records related to a potential sale of U.S. Steel to Japan's Nippon Steel.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 26, 2024
U.S. Steel review targeted by Republicans for potential probe
GOP lawmakers are calling on U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration to preserve documents related to the proposed sale to Japan’s Nippon Steel.
Fujikura's headquarters in Tokyo's Koto Ward. The company's share price has surged by more than 400% this year.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 25, 2024
AI boom makes 139-year-old cable maker Japan’s hottest stock
Fujikura, which makes narrow wire cabling, is the best performer on the Nikkei stock index this year due to a boom in demand for data centers.
Nippon Steel has accused critics of the U.S. Steel deal of making inaccurate comments about the transaction.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 19, 2024
Nippon Steel claims union ‘misinformation’ in battle for U.S. Steel
Vice Chairman Takahiro Mori has reiterated commitments made by Nippon Steel, which include maintaining U.S. Steel’s blast furnace operations.
Leaders of over 70 universities and research institutions from Japan and India attended a forum in New Delhi in mid-October.
JAPAN
Nov 19, 2024
Japan’s public and private sectors seek workers from India
The number of technical trainees and what are known as specified skilled workers coming from India to Japan has been on the rise in recent years.
A poster in the Tamil language advertises smartphone assembly roles outside a shop in Sriperumbudur, near Chennai, in India, on Oct. 28.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 18, 2024
Foxconn tells India recruiters: Nix marital status in iPhone job ads
The move follows an investigation published June 25 that found Foxconn excluded married women from jobs at its main India iPhone assembly plant.
Core machinery orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise and down for the second straight month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024
Japan’s machinery orders see unexpected fall in September
The orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists’ median estimates for a 1.9% rise.
Donald Trump remains mum on the deal just as a top Nippon Steel executive readies a trip to Pittsburgh to persuade rank-and-file union members and politicians to support the $14.1 billion acquisition of the iconic American company.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 16, 2024
Trump promised to kill U.S. Steel deal. Now what?
The president-elect remains mum on the deal just as a top Nippon Steel executive readies a trip to Pittsburgh to rally support for the sale.
Nippon Steel Vice President Takahiro Mori is set to visit United States next week to meet with union members in a bid to move forward a U.S. Steel takeover deal.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 14, 2024
Nippon Steel’s vice president to meet steelworkers in Pittsburgh next week
The move shows the Japanese company is making a push to persuade union members that its bid to take over U.S. Steel will be good for workers.
Nippon Steel Chairman and CEO Eiji Hashimoto told a local weekly that a lawsuit is possible if the company's proposed buyout of U.S. Steel gets blocked without proper procedures being followed.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 13, 2024
Nippon Steel does not rule out lawsuit if U.S. Steel deal nixed, CEO says
If the deal falls through without a legitimate reason or proper procedures, the Japanese steelmaker would consider suing the U.S. government, CEO Eiji Hashimoto says.
Toyota posted its first quarterly profit drop in two years, as slowing sales and production volume stalled the world's top-selling automaker's recent record run.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 6, 2024
Toyota keeps profit outlook despite weakness in Japan and China
The carmaker showed signs of recovery from domestic scandals in Japan and major recalls in the United States.
The European Commission's executive vice president, Valdis Dombrovskis, and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng finish a joint news conference following the 10th China-EU High-Level Economic and Trade Dialogue in Beijing in September 2023.
COMMENTARY / World
Nov 6, 2024
It’s not just U.S. trade hawks. Europe fears China, too.
As China’s economic policies take hold, Europe’s economic concerns may be just beginning.
Seiji Izumisawa, the CEO of Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, said at a briefing that while currency fluctuations and inflation make the future unpredictable, strong order intakes are encouraging.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Mitsubishi Heavy net income falls, but orders still solid
Shares in the company fell 2.5% Tuesday after it reported that net income for the June-September period failed to meet analysts’ average estimate.
Workers at a garment factory in Gazipur, Bangladesh, on April 16, 2023
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 5, 2024
AI supports fashion’s climate goals, but workers may be left behind
In Bangladesh, about 60% of apparel workers, or 2.7 million people, risk losing their jobs due to automation.
Boeing workers hold signs during a strike rally for the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers at the Seattle Union Hall in Seattle, Washington, on Oct. 15.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 1, 2024
Striking Boeing workers set to vote on union-endorsed 38% wage hike offer
The vote on Monday, if approved, would be a boost for new CEO Kelly Ortberg, who is pushing for a “fundamental culture change” at the beleaguered company.
Japan's industrial production gained 1.4% from August, led by cars and chemical product manufacturers.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 31, 2024
Japan’s September factory output beat estimates but was down year on year
While the figures were stronger than forecast, production was weak, and uncertainty over domestic and overseas demand clouds the outlook.
Maruti Suzuki, which is majority-owned by Suzuki Motor, will begin production of a new EV from spring 2025 at its plant in the western Indian state of Gujarat.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2024
Toyota to get Suzuki’s first-ever EV as partnership expands
Maruti Suzuki, which is majority-owned by Suzuki, will begin production of the EV from spring 2025 in Gujarat, India.
Robyn Qiu (left) and her father Qiu Zhirong in their metal parts factory in Nantong, in eastern China's Jiangsu province, on Sept. 27
BUSINESS / Tech
Oct 28, 2024
China’s second-generation factory owners go digital to combat challenges
Flagging domestic demand in recent years has weighed on the manufacturing sector.
‘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 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.
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. 
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.
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.
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.

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

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