News On Japan

Honda to Spend $65 Billion on EVs, Self-Driving Tech

May 16, 2024 (NHK) - Honda Motor says it will invest 10 trillion yen or roughly 65 billion dollars in electric vehicles and software for self-driving technology through fiscal 2030.

Mibe Toshihiro, President and Representative Executive Officer of Honda Motor, said, "Our main objective is to prepare for the medium and long term by building strong EV brands and business models. And we're doing that with an eye on the period when EVs will become more common in the late 2020s and beyond."

The Japanese automaker has said that by 2040, EVs and fuel cell vehicles will make up 100 percent of its sales. Mibe says that target hasn't changed.

Honda plans to launch a new EV series from 2026 and sell seven models worldwide by 2030.

The company also aims to strengthen its battery development and supply systems. It wants to reduce procurement costs in North America by more than 20 percent.

In Canada, Honda hopes to cut production costs at a dedicated EV plant by about 35 percent. The factory is expected to go online in 2028.

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A newly formed tropical depression near Taiwan on June 9th is expected to intensify the seasonal rain front lingering over southwestern Japan, raising the risk of warning-level rainfall across Okinawa and the Amami Islands through around June 11th.

Japan's national soccer team arrived in Nashville, Tennessee, on June 8th from Monterrey, Mexico, where it had been conducting a pre-World Cup training camp, and held its first practice session at its base camp for the FIFA World Cup in North America.

A prolonged eruption at Sakurajima on June 7th blanketed parts of Kagoshima City in volcanic ash, turning roads gray and prompting long lines of vehicles seeking car washes after a plume of smoke rose 1,300 meters above the crater.

A powerful earthquake struck off Mindanao Island in the southern Philippines at 8:38 a.m. (Japan time) on June 8th, generating tsunami waves across parts of the Pacific, causing building collapses and casualties near the epicenter, and prompting the Japan Meteorological Agency to issue tsunami advisories along a wide stretch of Japan's Pacific coastline before lifting all of them at 4:50 p.m.

A clinic director and a former Peruvian staff member have been referred to prosecutors after the man allegedly performed medical procedures without a license, including an external cephalic version—a procedure used to manually turn a baby into the correct position before birth—at an obstetrics and gynecology clinic in Fukuoka City, raising concerns about patient safety and oversight in maternity care.

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The number of restaurant bankruptcies in Japan reached a record high for the January–May period, highlighting mounting pressures from rising costs, labor shortages, and increasingly cautious consumer spending.

Casio Computer, the company behind some of Japan’s most iconic consumer electronics including calculators, digital cameras, electronic musical instruments, and the G-SHOCK watch, is pursuing a new strategy aimed at reviving its tradition of product innovation.

Nippon Steel plans to invest up to $2.5 billion, or approximately 400 billion yen, over the next three years in the Mon Valley Works steel complex in Pennsylvania, one of the key facilities operated by U.S. Steel, the American steelmaker it acquired in 2025.

Japan's economy grew at an annualized rate of 1.8% in the January–March quarter of 2026, according to revised gross domestic product (GDP) data released by the Cabinet Office, with the figure marked down from the preliminary estimate due largely to weaker-than-expected capital investment.

Japanese stocks suffered a sharp sell-off on June 8th as weakness in U.S. technology shares and growing concerns over higher global interest rates triggered widespread selling, sending the Nikkei Stock Average down 2,563.52 points, or about 3.8%, to close at 64,024.60.

Japan's current account surplus expanded 64.9% from a year earlier to 3.9078 trillion yen in April, marking the 15th consecutive month of positive balance, according to balance of payments data released by the Finance Ministry on June 8th.

Rapid inflation and the weakening yen continue to squeeze household budgets across Japan, prompting renewed debate over the country's economic policies. Former Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda, who spearheaded the central bank's aggressive monetary easing campaign under Abenomics, argues that the overall economy remains on a positive trajectory and that wage growth is now exceeding inflation.

A court is set to hand down its verdict on August 28th in the trial of former Momuri president Shinji Tanimoto and his wife Shiori, who are accused of violating Japan's Attorney Act by illegally referring clients of the retirement agency service to lawyers.