News On Japan

Toyota Global Sales Fall 6.4% in August as China Market Slumps

TOKYO - Toyota Motor's global vehicle sales fell 6.4% from a year earlier to 790,743 units in August, marking the second consecutive month of year-on-year declines as high gasoline prices linked to the Middle East crisis continued to weigh on demand for gasoline-powered vehicles in China.

The automaker announced the August figures on September 29, with weakness in the Chinese market remaining a major drag on its worldwide sales.

Gasoline prices have risen sharply following the crisis in the Middle East, prompting Chinese consumers to increasingly avoid conventional gasoline-powered vehicles and adding to pressure on Toyota in the world's largest automobile market.

Toyota's domestic production also declined in August, falling 1.7% from a year earlier to 204,487 vehicles. It was the first year-on-year decrease in four months.

The decline in Japanese production reflected temporary factory shutdowns caused by the Kumamoto earthquake and typhoons, which disrupted operations at some of the automaker's plants.

Source: テレ東BIZ

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A powerful cold air mass brought the lowest temperatures of the season to much of Japan on Tuesday, November 10, with Hokkaido recording a nationwide seasonal low of minus 11.8 degrees Celsius, heavy snowfall covering northern communities, and Tokyo experiencing midwinter conditions as temperatures fell sharply across the country.

Odakyu Electric Railway unveiled images of its next-generation Romancecar limited express train on November 10, revealing a striking blue-green design featuring enormous circular windows that will allow passengers to enjoy panoramic views from ceiling to floor when the new trains enter service in March 2029.

As of 3 a.m. on November 10, Typhoon No. 32 was moving northeast over waters south of Japan, with the powerful storm expected to approach the Ogasawara Islands late Tuesday through Wednesday morning, November 11, bringing strong winds, heavy rain and waves exceeding 6 meters in some areas.

A male bear weighing approximately 270 kilograms was killed by hunters in Iwamizawa, Hokkaido, on November 8th after being caught in a box trap, with local hunters suspecting it was responsible for a series of attacks on a nearby poultry farm that left more than 100 chickens and ducks dead since August.

A magnitude 5.7 earthquake struck central Japan early on November 8th, registering an upper 5 on Japan's seismic intensity scale in Aichi Prefecture and injuring at least 21 people, while damaging buildings and disrupting Shinkansen and conventional railway services across the region.

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