Panasonic Offers Early Retirement For Employees Aged 40 To 59

A surge in prices is hitting local festivals across Japan, with the centuries-old Chichibu Night Festival, one of the nation’s three major float festivals, reducing its traditional fireworks program by 200 shots after pyrotechnic costs soared, as the Highashi administration rolls out inflation countermeasures that aim to support households but have prompted concerns that they may end up accelerating inflation instead, raising questions about how these policies will ultimately affect everyday life.

Roland has completed construction of its new headquarters building in Hamamatsu, with the company holding its official opening ceremony on November 27th.

BYD will introduce an aggressively priced plug-in hybrid vehicle in Japan as part of its bid to expand market share, with the company set to begin domestic sales of its Sealion 6 model on December 1st at a starting price of 3.98 million yen, according to reporting by TV Tokyo.

Toyota’s global production in October reached 926,987 vehicles, rising 3.8% from a year earlier, marking the fifth consecutive month of year-on-year growth and setting a new single-month record for the first time in 1 year and 11 months.

Investors in the real-estate fund Minna de Ooya-san, which raised more than 200 billion yen while promising annual returns of around 7%, are facing deepening uncertainty as Narita International Airport Company moves to end its lease of development land near the airport at the end of this month, adding further strain to a project already mired in delays and halted distributions.

Honda announced on November 25th that production has resumed at its automobile plant in Mexico after operations were halted from late October due to a semiconductor shortage.

The Nikkei Stock Average climbed into the 52,000-yen range in October before swinging sharply and falling back below 50,000 yen, raising questions over whether the benchmark has already entered a correction phase or whether the market can stabilize above the 50,000-yen level and aim higher.

The steady rise in food prices in Japan has become unmistakable, with some items increasing by as much as 10% in September 2025, yet the overall consumer price index shows growth of only around 3%, leaving many wondering why the gap is so large and whether official data truly reflects the burden households feel.