author

 
Menu
Search
 
July 12, 2026
 

Today's print edition

Home Delivery
Subscribe for more access

Meta

Nicholas Takahashi
Honda’s Acura Integra Type S is one of the two U.S.-built models to be sold in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 5, 2026
Honda to boost Japan lineup by importing cars from the U.S. and China
Honda said it’s taking advantage of a simplified certification system in the wake of U.S. President Donald Trump’s push to sell more American cars in Japan.
Nidec CEO Mitsuya Kishida (center) and others bow in apology during a news conference in Tokyo on Tuesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 4, 2026
Nidec warns of $1.6 billion charges from accounting scandal
The world’s largest manufacturer of precision motors said there could be additional charges that would impact its past financial results.
The Toyota group has raised its offer price to privatize Toyota Industries.
BUSINESS / Companies
Mar 3, 2026
Toyota raises buyout bid for unit, ending standoff with Elliott
The carmaker and its affiliates are now willing to pay ¥20,600 for each share of Toyota Industries they don’t already own, the group said Monday.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during a news conference in the city of Chiba in January.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 12, 2026
Toyota delays deadline for $35 billion deal opposed by Elliott
The extension prolongs Toyota’s high-profile standoff with Elliott, and means the activist fund still has a chance at derailing what it argues is an undervalued offer.
Honda said one-time electric vehicle-related expenses cost it ¥267.1 billion in the nine months ended Dec. 31.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2026
Honda joins rivals in warning about costly slowdown in EV growth
Major automakers are warning of an electric vehicle winter as major markets roll back supportive policies, leaving the industry struggling to pivot to gas-electric hybrid models.
Kenta Kon (right), incoming CEO of Toyota, and Koji Sato, outgoing CEO, pose for photographs during a news conference in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 10, 2026
Toyota patriarch taps former secretary as carmaker’s new CEO
CFO Kenta Kon on Friday was unexpectedly announced as the next head of Japan’s largest manufacturer to succeed Koji Sato.
Elliott Investment Management now owns around 7.1% of Toyota Industries, according to a filing on Thursday.
BUSINESS
Feb 5, 2026
Elliott raises Toyota Industries stake in push to block buyout
The U.S. fund now owns around 7.1% of Toyota Industries.
Toyota Motor Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks at a news conference in the city of Chiba earlier this month.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2026
Toyota keeps title as top carmaker with sales at record in 2025
The numbers show that Toyota has been able to remain on track despite U.S. President Donald Trump’s trade war and the rise of Chinese carmakers.
If Elliott Investment Management succeeds in blocking Toyota's take-private deal, it would mark one of the biggest wins for shareholder activism in Japan.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 29, 2026
Elliott seen having a shot at foiling controversial Toyota deal
Should Elliott prevail, it would go down as one of the biggest victories for shareholder activism in Japan.
The Toyota group plans to take Toyota Industries private, a deal opposed by U.S. activist fund Elliott Investment Management.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 19, 2026
Elliott opposes group buyout of Toyota Industries
The U.S. activist fund argues Toyota Industries, which it has a 5% stake in, could achieve greater value on its own.
The Toyota group has raised its buyout offer for Toyota Industries by 15%.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 15, 2026
Toyota Industries shares exceed new bid as traders push for more
The sweetened bid is unlikely to placate investors who say the new price still undervalues the company with the shares already outpacing the revised offer.
A Toyota dealership in Beijing. Toyota’s global sales and production fell in November, weighed down in large part by a sharp drop in China.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 26, 2025
Toyota posts rare sales drop in November, dragged down by China
Global automakers are facing greater uncertainty as they navigate an environment of trade tensions, regulatory changes and uncertain economic outlooks.
Camry vehicles move through final inspection after coming off the assembly line at the Toyota Motor manufacturing plant in Georgetown, Kentucky, in 2019.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2025
Toyota to sell made-in-America vehicles in Japan to please Trump
The Camry sedan, Highlander sport utility vehicle and Tundra pickup truck will go on sale in Japan from 2026.
Toyota Industries, whose shares are worth ¥5.6 trillion, was offered a buyout price in June nearly ¥1 trillion, or 16%, below the value of its holdings.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 19, 2025
Toyota Industries buyout bid dips 16% below stock holdings
The gap between the take-private proposal and the value of Toyota Industries’ holdings has become a major sticking point for activist fund Elliott Investment Management.
Honda will suspend output in Japan on Jan. 5 and Jan. 6, a spokesperson said Thursday, highlighting the lingering fallout of the global chip shortage.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 18, 2025
Honda to halt production at plants in Japan and China due to chip shortage
The Japanese carmaker has been hit hard after China blocked Nexperia — owned by Chinese company Wingtech Technology — from exporting products made at its local plants.
Toyota displays the Lexus LFA Concept during the company's all-new sports models World Premiere at the Toyota Woven City in Susono, Shizuoka Prefecture on Friday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 5, 2025
Toyota unveils concept LFA supercar, and it’s fully electric
Should the new concept go into production, it would sit at the pinnacle of the company’s vast lineup as its top-of-the-line performance vehicle.
Yoshinori Kanehana, chairman of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, during the Future Investment Initiative conference in Tokyo on Monday
BUSINESS
Dec 1, 2025
Kawasaki signals price hikes for motorbikes to offset tariffs
Kawasaki Heavy is widely known for its popular motorbikes, but its business spans naval frigate engines to subway cars.
The administration of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi will intervene more actively in the foreign exchange market, according to Takuji Aida, chief economist at Credit Agricole and a member of a new government panel in charge of discussing Japan's growth strategy.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 23, 2025
Takaichi to be proactive with yen intervention, panelist says
The threshold of 160 to the dollar is seen as a line in the sand.
Nissan expects a ¥275 billion ($1.8 billion) operating loss this year as it pushes ahead with cost-cutting to salvage its deteriorating finances.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 31, 2025
Nissan shares fall after warning of $1.8 billion annual loss
The struggling company has faced cratering profits and a mountain of debt,
Toyota Motor CEO Koji Sato speaks during a media preview at the Japan Mobility Show in Tokyo on Wednesday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Oct 30, 2025
Toyota doesn’t plan better offer in privatization deal, CEO says
CEO Koji Sato said Toyota Motor has no plans to sweeten a deal involving a proposed ¥4.7 trillion buyout of Toyota Industries.
China’s demand for Soviet-style apartments shows limits to revival
Apartments built during a Soviet Union-inspired construction drive in the 1970s and 1980s tend to suffer from poor insulation and outdated plumbing, but they are seeing a revival in interest due to their attractive locations.
Japanese scientists identify neural mechanism that may explain why we dislike people
The aggressive mouse (left) used in the experiment and a mouse defending itself
Japanese payment processor’s collapse hits banks and restaurants
Zentoshin served around 200,000 shops, many of which rely on early payments to maintain cash flow, raising concerns over their financial stability following the disruption.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
Lenders seek $700 million after Japanese payments firm’s collapse
The financial failure of Osaka-based Zentoshin has left 63 creditors with claims totaling ¥115.16 billion, according to Tokyo Shoko Research.
Japan’s largest exhibition of women photographers rights a wrong in cultural history
Miwa Yanagi’s “Elevator Girl House” series skewers the superficiality of gender roles through staged images.
Over 70% of accommodations in Japan say they are understaffed amid tourism influx
The number of foreign visitors to Japan reached a high of 42.68 million in 2025.
‘Princess Mononoke’ comes alive in Super Kabuki staging
The “Princess Mononoke” adaptation was created under Shochiku’s Super Kabuki initiative, a modern form of kabuki with more technology in staging and open to pop culture collaborations.
The beating heart inside ‘Human Vapor’
Different forms of love and connection form the emotional backbone of Netflix’s “Human Vapor,” says actor Shun Oguri, who plays troubled detective Kenji Okamoto.
Japan bets on character IP to drive global growth
Born on social media platforms in 2022, Opanchu Usagi has become a major hit, especially among Generation Z.

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

SUSTAINABLE JAPAN

Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being
Sompo looks beyond insurance to focus on well-being

SPECIAL SUPPLEMENTS note

Read more

SUPPLEMENTS BINDER