WIRE REPORTS

Culture can dictate quality Kelowna.com It was trailing Honda Motor Co. Ltd. and Nissan Motor Co., which were building cars in Ohio and Tennessee, respectively. Toyota wanted to learn quickly and ... and more » 2011 Honda Pilot SUV Offers Room for Eight People, Standard V-6 Power with ... WebWire (press release) The Bluetooth® word mark and logos are owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc., and any such use of such marks by Honda Motor Co., Ltd., is under license. Honda lands orders for over 8000 CR-Z hybrid sports cars in 17 days Kyodo News Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it has landed orders for more than 8000 CR-Z compact hybrid sports cars in just 17 days after the car made a showroom debut ... and more » Japan stocks fall ahead of central bank decisions BusinessWeek Honda Motor Co. retreated 1.5 percent to 3245 yen. Resource-related issues were also sluggish as oil prices extended losses below $80 a barrel Tuesday in ... and more » Asian Shares End Mixed; All Eyes On Fed, BOJ Outcomes Wall Street Journal Among exporters, Canon Inc. lost 1.3% and Honda Motor Co. dropped 1.5%. Shipping stocks also ranked among the losers after sharp gains on Monday. ... and more » STATEMENT FROM TRADING ENTERPRISES REGARDING HONDA ODYSSEY SERVICE CAMPAIGN Eye of Dubai (press release) Trading Enterprises has today received notification from its principals – Honda Motor Co., Ltd – that a limited number of Honda Odyssey's (model year '07 ... and more » Nikkei edges down after rally; BOJ, Fed awaited Sify Honda Motor Co retreated 1.5 percent to 3245 yen and TDK Corp fell 0.9 percent to 5760 yen. Commodities-linked shares including oil and gas field developer ... and more » Honda gets 8000 orders for CR-Z sports hybrid Reuters YOKOHAMA, Japan, March 16 (Reuters) - Honda Motor Co (7267.T) said on Tuesday it had received about 8000 orders for the CR-Z sporty hybrid car in Japan ... and more » Japan's Stocks Fall Before BOJ Outcome; Exporters Drop on Yen BusinessWeek Honda Motor Co., which gets about 85 percent of its sales abroad, declined 1.5 percent. Mitsui & Co., Japan's No. 2 trading house by market value, ... and more » JAPAN AIMS TO SET STANDARD FOR ELEC-CAR CHARGERS Trading Markets (press release) Other domestic firms involved include Honda Motor Co. (TSE:7267), Suzuki Motor Corp. (TSE:7269), Mazda Motor Corp. (TSE:7261), Okinawa Electric Power Co. ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Mar 11 65 years after the war, Japan needs convincing of the need for US bases On a humid March evening in Okinawa young American men with crewcuts and thick necks sprawl out from the bars and lap-dancing clubs that cluster near US military bases across the island. "Marijuana - it's like alcohol, but . . ." reads one T-shirt. A young white man weaves his Honda Saloon at speed through cars heading for a junction. "We all pull clear," one Japanese driver says. "There are so many accidents." The US has slapped tough rules on the 22,000 Marines and 24,000 other personnel on its vast bases on Okinawa, the southernmost island of Japan, after the rape of a 12-year-old girl by three servicemen in 1995 brought tens of thousands of people on to the streets in protest. (Times Online) Mar 9 Pet shop manager caught stealing penguin from Japanese zoo A security guard at the Nagasaki Bio Park noticed Akira Honda, 24, ushering the Humboldt Penguin into his suitcase in January. According to the zoo, the penguin is worth about Y400,000. Mr Honda told police that he had run up debts which he intended to pay off by selling the creature to a collector. Humboldt Penguins are native to South America and grow to around 27 inches tall and up to 13lb in weight. They are currently listed as vulnerable, due largely to the destruction of their habitats, and an estimated 12,000 survive in the wild. (telegraph.co.uk) Mar 8 Soccer: Is J-League about to become one of the world's biggest? It is a league that is seeing a growing number of international players in its stadia, it has some of the best facilities in the world and it is already one of the most-watched football leagues around but the J-League is not about to stop there. From the atmospheric old arenas like Shimizu S-Pulse's Nihondaira Sports Stadium where fans can gaze at Mount Fuji if the football is not up to much and Kawasaki Frontale's oddly shaped Todoroki Stadium, located in a picturesque park in the middle of a pleasant residential area to the space age World Cup arenas such as Urawa's Saitama Stadium and the Kashima Soccer Stadium - the J-League is growing in stature and reputation. (goal.com) Mar 4 Small is beautiful: Japan's hand-made electric cars While auto manufacturing giants spend millions to develop environmentally-friendly electric cars, one Japanese company has taken a more low-key approach, crafting hand-made "green" cars. Takeoka Jidosha Kogei may be the antithesis of the world's Hondas and Nissans. The family-run business makes its cars from scratch in a garage workshop in the snowy foothills in the northwest of the country. There are no industrial robots or assembly lines in sight. Instead just a dozen mechanics crafting each model by hand, right up to the finishing touch of adding a set of beady headlights to their "Milieu" range. (AFP) Mar 3 Soccer: Japan downs Bahrain 2-0 in Asian Cup qualifier Shinji Okazaki and Keisuke Honda scored Wednesday to lead Japan to a 2-0 win over Bahrain in an Asian Cup qualifier. Okazaki found the net in the 36th minute with a header from five meters (yards) and Honda doubled the lead with another header, from Naoto Uchida's cross in the 47th. Both teams have already qualified for the Asian Cup, and Japan was using the match to prepare for the World Cup. (Reuters) Feb 25 Honda launches world's first sporty hybrid car Honda Motor Co. on Thursday rolled out the CR-Z, the world's first hybrid sports car. The car, which will hit domestic showrooms Friday ahead of its global launch, comes with an electric motor equivalent to 1.5 liters and a 2.0-liter gasoline engine for acceleration. Its fuel efficiency is rated at 25 km per liter, compared with about 12 for similar gas-powered Honda models. (Japan Times) Feb 25 Soccer: Under-fire Okada names strong squad for Asian Cup dead rubber Under-fire Japan coach Takeshi Okada on Thursday named Catania striker Takayuki Morimoto and four other European-based players to a full-strength squad for next week's 2011 Asian Cup final- round qualifier at home to Bahrain. Along with Morimoto, Okada has recalled unsettled Espanyol playmaker Shunsuke Nakamura and fellow midfielders Makoto Hasebe (VfL Wolfsburg), Daisuke Matsui (Grenoble) and Keisuke Honda (CSKA Moscow) to a 20-man squad for Wednesday's match at Toyota Stadium. (AP) Feb 22 Japan beset by auto apathy Japan was not a fun place to own a car even before wide-ranging recalls from Toyota and Honda sullied the country's reputation for producing quality automobiles. Roads are crowded, narrow and dull; highway speed limits top out at 80 kilometers per hour, and the toll fees are steep - drivers on the 325-kilometer trip from Tokyo to Nagoya before the financial crisis broke last year had to pay 7,100 yen (US$77.47). Within Tokyo, a parking space costs the equivalent of US$300 a month and up. (Asia Times) Feb 11 Japan Inc woes mirror nation's economic malaise Japan's corporate titans once seemed unstoppable, but now Toyota is in crisis, Japan Airlines is bankrupt and a host of other companies are in trouble, adding to the nation's long economic malaise. Its top two automakers, Toyota and Honda, are both reeling from massive safety recalls and another Japanese manufacturer has admitted to faking safety data for 150,000 aircraft seats. The myriad problems have prompted observers to question just what happened to Japan's technological prowess. (AFP) Feb 9 Honda to recall 378,758 cars in U.S. over airbag inflators The U.S. arm of Japan's Honda Motor Co. said Tuesday it will recall 378,758 vehicles in the United States, including Accords and Civics, to replace the driver's airbag inflator. American Honda Motor Co. said the driver's airbag inflators in these vehicles may deploy with too much pressure, which could cause the inflator casing to rupture, possibly resulting in injury or death, the company said. (AP) Jan 31 Woes at Toyota, JAL, Sony bruise Japan Inc.'s stellar reputation Toyota is the latest Japanese corporate icon making headlines for all the wrong reasons. News of the automaker's massive vehicle recalls over faulty gas pedals came just days after Japan Airlines, a once proud flag carrier, filed for bankruptcy, saddled with billions in debt. Sony has lost its lead in consumer gadgets to the likes of Apple Inc. and has suffered its own quality mishaps. Honda, Japan's No. 2 automaker, is recalling 646,000 cars worldwide because of a faulty window switch. Taken together, Japan Inc.'s stellar reputation for quality has taken a hit - just as China is about to overtake it as the world's No. 2 economy and rising South Korean companies compete ever more aggressively. (Canadian Press) Jan 29 Honda recall deals fresh blow to Japanese makers Honda said Friday it was recalling 646,000 vehicles worldwide due to a window problem, dealing a fresh blow to Japanese automakers' reputation for quality as Toyota expanded its own massive recall. Honda said the move covers Fit/Jazz cars made between 2002 and 2008 in Japan, China, Brazil, Thailand, Malaysia and India. Honda said that about 10 percent of the cars recalled would need a replacement switch, with the remainder requiring installation of a waterproof skirt to prevent further water entry. (AFP) Jan 28 Pet shop manager arrested for stealing penguin from zoo A pet shop manager was arrested Wednesday for allegedly stealing a penguin from a zoo here, police said. Akira Honda, 24, is accused of stealing a Humboldt penguin -- worth about 400,000 yen -- from the Nagasaki Bio Park in Saikai at around 3:30 p.m. on Wednesday. According to police, an officer patrolling around the zoo questioned Honda, who was acting suspiciously, and found the penguin in his bag. (Mainichi) Jan 6 Japan brings 'car wars' to India Global automakers lined up their global launches at the 10th Auto Expo here to vie for their share of Indian auto market and break the hold of local players in one of the fastest growing markets in the world. Toyota, Honda, Volkswagen and General Motors unveiled new compact car models. Honda Siel Cars India announced the world premiere of the New Honda Small Concept. (expressbuzz.com) Dec 19 Honda to sell low-cost compact car in India Honda Motor Co. has said it plans to sell a low-cost compact car in India and other economically emerging nations as early as the end of 2010. The automaker, which is now developing the 1-liter car, aims to drastically increase its market share in India. It currently has only a small percentage of this burgeoning market. (Yomiuri) Nov 29 Toyota looks set to be hit the hardest among Japanese exporters The dollar is losing against the yen but while Japanese exporters have been reeling against its effects, Toyota Motor Corp. appears to have been hit the hardest. For the October-March period (the company's second half in its fiscal period), Toyota has assumed an average dollar rate of 90 yen compared with 85 yen at Honda Motor and Nissan Motor. (4Wheelsnews.com) Nov 28 Japan's Tougher Talk Over Yen Is Just Talk Flummoxed by forex-that is how Japan's new finance minister must be feeling. At a 14-year high against the dollar, causing shares of exporters like Sony and Honda Motor to drop and stoking fears of imported deflation, the yen is testing the tolerance of Hirohisa Fujii. Two months ago he said he was reluctant to intervene in foreign-exchange markets. Friday, Mr. Fujii changed his tune a bit, lamenting the 'one-sided' yen appreciation. It was his strongest jawboning yet, but this is a long way from intervention. The evidence still seems to suggest such a move isn't about to happen. (Wall Street Journal) Nov 23 Honda bicycle simulator teaches safety without all the scrapes Some lucky folks in Japan will be able to learn about bike safety using Honda's fancy simulator setup you see above, rather than flying over their handlebars and developing forehead welts the size of golf balls. (Thanks, dad!) While it looks like something you'd see in the corner of an arcade, the arrangement adds up to more than just a game. (dvice.com) Nov 11 3 fuel cell cars begin 1,100-km demonstration run Fuel cell-powered vehicles from Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co. and Honda Motor Co. leave the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry in Tokyo on Nov. 11, 2009, for a 1,100-kilometer run to Fukuoka to demonstrate that they can go as far as gasoline-powered cars on a single fueling. Toyota's FCHV-adv, Nissan's X-Trail FCV and Honda's FCX Clarity will be used in the event. (Kyodo) Nov 10 Motor racing: Japanese will come back to F1 one day, says Brawn Formula One can expect Japan's departed carmakers and companies to return eventually but it could be a long wait, according to championship-winning team boss Ross Brawn. Brawn's former Honda team pulled out last December while Toyota followed this month and Bridgestone, Formula One's sole tyre supplier, have announced they will leave at the end of next season. (Reuters) Oct 28 Japan's automakers set production records in China Japanese automakers are experiencing a production boom in China with Toyota, Honda and Nissan setting records for September - the latest signs of an emerging recovery for Japan's auto industry. Honda Motor Co.'s production set a record for the company in both China and Asia overall for September, although total overseas production has been declining for a year. (AP) Oct 25 Japanese automakers' hydrogen car drive Imagine a car that can be refuelled in minutes but emits only water. Sounds like science fiction? In fact it already exists -- Hollywood star Jamie Lee Curtis has one. So does Honda president Takanobu Ito. Yet while some see them as the ultimate environmentally-friendly automobiles, the high production cost means that affordable hydrogen-powered fuel-cell cars are still more of a dream than reality. (AFP) Oct 25 Tokyo's 7 wonderful, weird vehicles The auto show in Tokyo annually draws the weird and the futuristic. Even with many automakers dropping out of the show because of economic woes, remaining automakers like Honda, Toyota, Nissan and Hyundai still showed off their strange sides. The unveiling of the $375,000 Lexus LFA was the talk of the show. (freep.com) Oct 19 Honda output to fall 30% from peak year Honda Motor Co.'s domestic car production in fiscal 2009 is expected to decline by about 30 percent compared to its all-time peak, to about 900,000, sources said. Honda has asked auto parts manufacturers--the company's main suppliers--to cut their fixed costs, including personnel, maintenance and operating costs of domestic plants, by about 30 percent, it was learned Monday. (Yomiuri) [ More... ]