News On Japan

Honda to launch EV brand, models in China in 2022

Oct 15, 2021 (NHK) - Honda Motor is planning to expand its presence in China with new models of electric vehicles under a new brand.

The e:N Series is slated to make its debut in spring 2022. Honda will be rolling out two EV models.

The firm says the lineup will expand to 10 models over the next five years. It is considering exporting some of these cars from China.

Honda is also planning to build two dedicated plants in the country. The aim is to start operations in 2024. Honda's goal is to convert its entire global lineup to electricity or fuel-cell power by 2040.

Other Japanese automakers are introducing eco-friendly models in the world's biggest market.

Toyota plans to increase its EV models from the current six to 15 in China, as well as in North America and other markets by 2025.

Nissan plans to roll out nine EV and hybrid models by 2025.

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A tropical depression east of Guam and Saipan is expected to strengthen into a typhoon within 12 hours and approach Japan during the Silver Week holiday period, while a lingering autumn rain front could bring heavy rainfall across a wide area even far from the storm's eventual path.

Japan's Halloween Jumbo Lottery went on sale nationwide on September 16, offering a combined top payout of 400 million yen for the first prize and its adjacent-number prizes.

A new top-tier "Supreme Class" offering fully private compartments above the level of Green Car service will debut on the Tokaido and Sanyo Shinkansen on October 1, with passengers able to experience the new seating at a demonstration booth at Shin-Osaka Station.

A Japan Air Self-Defense Force Global Hawk unmanned reconnaissance aircraft went missing over international waters about 50 kilometers north of Tottori Prefecture on September 15, with floating debris and oil later found in the area where communications were lost.

GO, Waymo and Nihon Kotsu said they aim to launch Japan's first commercial fully driverless taxi service in Tokyo during 2027, using Level 4 autonomous vehicles that can operate without a driver on board under specified conditions.

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A second-year high school student was arrested at the scene after allegedly releasing tear gas spray inside a classroom at Osaka University of Commerce Sakai High School on September 16, leaving 24 students complaining of coughing, throat pain and other symptoms.

A 27-year-old nightclub employee and influencer known online as Yamatorino was arrested at the scene on suspicion of possessing cocaine at her home in Tokyo's Roppongi district, along with her 28-year-old boyfriend.

Police have arrested a 26-year-old man suspected of acting as a top-level planner in an anonymous, fluid criminal group known as a "Tokuryu," with investigators believing he was involved in a series of theft-related crimes in Kyoto and other areas between December 2025 and March 2026.

A 37-year-old man was arrested at Chubu Centrair International Airport after allegedly injuring a police officer who warned him about walking two toy poodles without leashes inside the airport complex.

The number of people aged 100 or older in Japan has exceeded 100,000 for the first time, reaching a record 107,677 as of September 1, according to the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.

A 29-year-old man accused of killing his pregnant former girlfriend, a nail artist in Mito, Ibaraki Prefecture, admitted the charges at his first trial on September 14, with prosecutors saying he used tracking tags to locate the woman after deciding he wanted to kill her and "reset" his life to before their relationship.

Tokyo police have found that two teenage girls detained during coordinated patrols in the "Toyoko" area of Kabukicho were carrying forged student identification cards containing false ages and names.

Roads around the Fushimi Otesuji Shopping Street in Kyoto's Fushimi Ward were flooded on the evening of September 13 after water began gushing from a nearby road, forcing authorities to close part of the street to traffic.