News On Japan

Japan New Car Sales Rise 9.6% in April

TOKYO, May 02 (News On Japan) - Japan’s domestic automobile sales showed solid growth, with new car sales in April rising 9.6% from a year earlier to 314,816 units, according to data released on May 1st by industry groups including the Japan Automobile Dealers Association.

While sales of mini vehicles declined 4.8%, the overall increase was driven by a strong rebound in registered vehicles excluding mini cars, which had fallen below year-earlier levels in March. All manufacturers recorded year-on-year gains in this category, pushing overall sales growth to nearly 20% for registered vehicles and supporting the broader market expansion.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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The “ink shock” caused by tensions in the Middle East is beginning to spread across Japan’s food packaging industry, prompting manufacturers to simplify designs and reduce ink usage as concerns grow over naphtha supplies and rising printing costs.

The Cannes Film Festival opened this week with three Japanese films nominated for the festival’s top prize, the Palme d'Or, including 'Sheep in the Box' directed by Hirokazu Kore-eda, 'Nagi Notes' directed by Koji Fukada, and 'Suddenly Feeling Unwell' directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi.

Japan has approved the application of public health insurance to a regenerative medicine product using iPS cells to treat Parkinson’s disease, marking the world’s first practical use of iPS cell-based regenerative medicine.

Foreign acquisition of Japanese land has become a growing topic of debate in recent years, and now the trend is reaching Ashiya, one of the Kansai region’s most prestigious residential areas, where soaring property prices are increasingly being linked to demand from wealthy Chinese buyers.

A tanker carrying approximately 45,000 kiloliters of crude oil from Azerbaijan arrived in Japan on May 12th, marking the first time Azerbaijani crude has reached the country as the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.

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The yield on Japan’s benchmark newly issued 10-year government bond rose to 2.60% in the Tokyo bond market on May 13th, marking its highest level in approximately 29 years since June 1997.

Foreign acquisition of Japanese land has become a growing topic of debate in recent years, and now the trend is reaching Ashiya, one of the Kansai region’s most prestigious residential areas, where soaring property prices are increasingly being linked to demand from wealthy Chinese buyers.

Bloomberg reported on May 11th that SoftBank Group Chairman and CEO Masayoshi Son held discussions with French President Emmanuel Macron regarding investment in AI data centers in France.

A tanker carrying approximately 45,000 kiloliters of crude oil from Azerbaijan arrived in Japan on May 12th, marking the first time Azerbaijani crude has reached the country as the effective blockade of the Strait of Hormuz continues.

Major snack manufacturer Calbee will switch the packaging of some of its products to black-and-white designs as instability in the Middle East disrupts the procurement of printing ink and other materials.

The Nikkei Stock Average reversed early gains and closed 295.77 points, or 0.4%, lower at 62,417.88 on May 11 after surging more than 1,600 points earlier in the day, as selling spread across AI-related and semiconductor shares despite record highs in the U.S. Nasdaq and Philadelphia Semiconductor Index, while concerns over Middle East tensions and U.S. interest rate policy weighed on investor sentiment.

Major sushi chain Sushiro will make its first entry into the United States this autumn, with plans to open its inaugural North American outlet near Times Square in New York.

Toyota Motor has become the first Japanese company to surpass 50 trillion yen in annual revenue, although the automaker expects profits to decline this fiscal year due to the impact of Middle East tensions and U.S. tariff policies.