WIRE REPORTS

Japanese Automakers et al Set to Expand Use of EVs Tech-On English Toyota Motor Corp, Nissan Motor Co Ltd, Mitsubishi Motors Corp, Fuji Heavy Industries Ltd and Tokyo Electric Power Co announced March 15, 2010, ... and more »

DAILY REPORTS

Mar 15 Toyota, Nissan others set up Japan group to promote electric vehicles, charging standard Toyota and three other Japanese automakers together with a power company have set up a group to promote electric vehicles by standardizing recharging machines and marketing the technology abroad. Representatives of Toyota Motor Corp., Nissan Motor Co., Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Fuji Heavy Industries and Tokyo Electric Power Co. gathered at a Tokyo hotel Monday to announce the association, which includes about 160 businesses, some of them foreign, and government organizations. The officials said the time may have arrived for electric vehicles to really take off not only in Japan but also around the world as concerns grow about emissions and dependence on oil. But the main hurdles that need to be overcome are better battery technology, costs and having recharging stations in convenient locations. (Canadian Press) Mar 6 BHP in coal deal breakthrough BHP Billiton has made a big breakthrough in its drive to overturn the annual coking coal price-setting system, with Japanese steel mills agreeing for the first time to a quarterly contract at a 55 per cent premium to the current rate. Unable to get BHP Billiton Mitsubishi Alliance to accept a 12-month price, Japanese mills gave ground last night, agreeing to the Queensland producer's offer $US200/tonne for the three months to June 30. This represents a decisive breakthrough in the BHP-led campaign to force Japanese and Korean steelmakers to give up their jealously guarded annual contract system and move to a pricing system more closely reflecting current market conditions. (The Australian) Mar 5 MMC opts for freedom to move in rejecting Peugeot Citroen deal Cash-strapped Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is facing renewed pressure to improve its financial standing after deciding not to form a capital alliance with France's PSA Peugeot Citroen. Opting for freedom in management, MMC dropped out of the deal because the two companies could not agree on which projects to implement after the tie-up was to take effect. DaimlerChrysler sold its entire stake in MMC in 2005. MMC still has an urgent need to bolster its financial standing, which deteriorated amid a string of defect cover-ups that surfaced in 2000. (Asahi) Feb 22 Mitsubishi Unveils 19.2-inch TFT LCD Module Mitsubishi Electric builds all sorts of products and the company has announced a new 19.2-inch TFT-LCD module that it will be selling internationally. The screen is backlit by white LEDs and is set to ship starting on April 1 in Asia. The cost of the screen in Japan will be 80,000 yen. Mitsubishi uses an aspect ratio of 16:3 is strange. The screen measures 496.5mm (W) x 109.2mm (H) and has a native resolution of 1920 x 360. (i4u.com) Feb 22 MHI to supply turbines for British wind farms Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. is to contribute to the world's largest offshore wind farm project in Britain, which is designed to meet the combined electricity demands of every household in the country by 2020, it was learned Sunday. For the project, MHI will develop and manufacture large offshore wind turbines, aided by a British government subsidy of 810,000 pounds (about 115 million yen). (Yomiuri) Feb 16 Coin jar saved by Mitsubishi Group founder's mom discovered in Kochi A jar in which the mother of Mitsubishi Group founder Yataro Iwasaki kept pin money that she had squirreled away has been found in the house of a company employee who lives near the Iwasaki house in Aki, Kochi Prefecture. In NHK's historical drama, "Ryomaden," there is a scene in which the mother, Miwa, played by Mitsuko Baisho, takes out a savings jar from a space under the floor. Tetsuya Odani, 48, who heard that the jar in which Iwasaki's mother saved small change was somewhere in his house, found it about a month ago. (Yomiuri) Feb 16 MMC plans ¥800,000 fuel-stingy compact Mitsubishi Motors Corp. is considering setting the price of its new fuel-efficient compact car at around ¥800,000, well under the roughly ¥1 million for the lowest-priced cars now available on the market, sources said. The automaker is planning to build the car, which is set for release next year, at low-cost plants in Thailand and China and to supply it to carmaker PSA Peugeot Citroen, which is looking to forge capital ties with Mitsubishi Motors, for sale under the French automaker's nameplate, the sources said. (Japan Times) Feb 2 Nikkei rises 1.6 pct on yen and Toyota Japan's Nikkei average rose 1.6 percent on Tuesday, with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) jumping after detailing plans of its fix for recalled vehicles, while exporters climbed on a weaker yen and strong U.S. manufacturing data. Resource-linked shares such as trading house Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) gained ground after oil and gold settled up 2 percent on Monday as commodity markets started February on a steadier note after their worst fall in more than a year last month. (Reuters) Feb 1 20 million yen worth of jewelry stolen from Osaka store A group of four broke into a jewelry store in Osaka early Monday and stole around 300 pieces of jewelry, police said. The four forced the entrance door open and smashed all of the four showcases in the store, operated by Mitsubishi Materials Corp., to seize necklaces, watches and other items believed to be worth around 20 million yen, according to the police. (AP) Jan 28 'Fathering school' opens to give men lessons in raising children More than a dozen men last autumn hoping to take on a greater role in child rearing gathered in Chuo Ward, Tokyo, after work for lectures on child care. One of them, the father of an elementary school boy, said, "I want to consider child rearing anew." A bachelor said was attending the eight-lecture course to prepare for the day he becomes a father. Around 58 percent of male company employees say they want "to strike a balance between work, and housework and child rearing," according to a poll conducted by Mitsubishi UFJ Consulting Co. (Japan Times) Jan 25 Revolutionary electric vehicle to hit the road A start-up company has begun developing an electric car that has motors in each of its wheels, a breakthrough that could enable the car to travel 300 kilometers per charge, up to twice as far as some other electric vehicles using the same batteries. The vehicle with the unique energy-saving "in-wheel motor" technology could go into mass-production in 2013. According to Sim-Drive, the company established by Keio University Prof. Hiroshi Shimizu and others, 34 companies and organizations--including Mitsubishi Motors Corp., Isuzu Motors Ltd., a battery maker and local governments--have invested 680 million yen in the project. (Yomiuri) Jan 12 Nikkei flat as banks fall, resource firms rise The Nikkei average was little changed on Tuesday, as bank shares slid on concern about exposure to Japan Airlines Corp (9205.T), but Mitsubishi Corp (8058.T) and other resource firms rose on higher gold prices. Shares of Fast Retailing (9983.T), which runs the Uniqlo chain of budget clothing stores, fell after Goldman Sachs said the firm's recent earnings forecast upgrade was largely priced in. (Reuters) Dec 28 Japan's Stocks Offer Bets on China 20 Years After Nikkei Peak Japan's Nikkei 225 Stock Average, the world's worst performer in the 20 years since its record high, offers a cheap way to bet on emerging markets, according to Mitsubishi UFJ Asset Management Co. The Nikkei has lost 73 percent since it climbed to a record 38,915.87 on Dec. 29, 1989, the worst performance of the world's major markets. (BusinessWeek) Dec 17 Nikkei slips from 7-week highs, big banks fall Japan's Nikkei average ended down 0.1 percent on Thursday, slipping from seven-week highs hit earlier in the day, as investors pocketed profits on a rally in big banks such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T). But Mazda Motor Corp (7261.T) rose after the Yomiuri newspaper reported that Japan's fifth-largest automaker will reach a formal agreement with Toyota Motor Corp (7203.T) by the end of March to work together on hybrid technology. (Reuters) Dec 17 Is Mazda next in line for partner? Mazda Motor Corp. may be the next carmaker to strike an alliance following plans by Suzuki Motor Corp. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. to team up with overseas manufacturers, investors and analysts say. The companies are seeking to share costs for developing new models with the latest technology. Mazda may need to do the same as its 40-year-old ties to Ford Motor Co. weaken. (Japan Times) Dec 4 Is Peugeot-Citroen on the verge of buying Mitsubishi? The French and the Japanese have gotten together to form a magic partnership once already with Carlos Ghosn at the helm. The question is, then, can that success be replicated? PSA Peugeot-Citroen seems to hope so, and it is reportedly on the verge of purchasing a controlling stake (somewhere between 30 and 53 percent, depending on the report) in Mitsubishi Motors. (autoblog.com) Dec 4 Peugeot and Mitsubishi talk of alliance When PSA Peugeot Citroen and Mitsubishi Motors said yesterday that they had begun talks on a possible 'strategic partnership', the news of a key rapprochement in a sector ripe for consolidation caused an initial jump in both companies' share prices. (FT.com) Nov 19 Mitsubishi UFJ offer spells 'harsh world' for rivals Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. may beat Japanese banking rivals to market with its planned sale of as much as 1 trillion yen ($11.2 billion) in stock as regulators demand bigger capital cushions. Chief Executive Officer Nobuo Kuroyanagi said he didn't want to "miss the opportunity" to tap equity investors for the second time in less than a year as smaller competitors Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. and Mizuho Financial Group Inc. are barred from selling common stock for at least another month. (Bloomberg) Nov 16 As investors sweat, Japan firms pump out shares The likely $15.5 billion share issuance by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (8306.T) and Hitachi Ltd (6501.T) is the latest blow to Japan's long-suffering investors, but it won't be the last. Japanese companies have already raised $40 billion through issuing common stock and convertible bonds this year, tapping a modest share market rebound for much-needed cash after the financial crisis -- but at the same time heavily diluting the holdings of their current shareholders. (Reuters) Nov 9 Solar collectors in space could finally solve Earth's energy problem The Japan Space Agency, along with Mitsubishi Electric Corp. and IHI Corp., are getting even closer to next big thing: harnessing the power of the sun with a solar collector in geostationary orbit. Now there's cold hard cash involved. The plan is to drop $21 billion into a solar power generator that beams electricity to Earth via microwaves. The 1-gigawatt solar station will gather sunlight with a gigantic array of solar panels that is 4 square kilometers big. (dvice.com) Oct 27 Japan Stocks Fall Most in Three Weeks; Resource Companies Drop Japanese stocks fell the most in three weeks as commodities companies tracked crude-oil prices lower, shipping lines slashed profit forecasts and consumer lenders declined on concern new regulations will cut earnings. Mitsubishi Corp. and Mitsui & Co., Japan's largest commodities traders, sank more than 4 percent after crude oil dropped the most in a month. Kawasaki Kisen Kaisha Ltd., Japan's third-biggest shipping line by sales, slumped 6.4 percent after more than doubling its loss forecast. (Bloomberg) Oct 23 New NASA spacecraft to use Japanese HTV tech A new unmanned spacecraft being developed in the United States will employ technology used on the H-2 Transfer Vehicle (HTV), an unpiloted spacecraft developed in Japan, the firm that developed the technology said Thursday. It will be the first time Japanese technology--in this case the HTV technology, developed by Mitsubishi Electric Corp.--will be used as a U.S. spacecraft's core component. (Yomiuri) Oct 20 London lawyer guilty of Japanese bank fraud A London lawyer was found guilty Tuesday of conning a Japanese bank where she was a senior manager out of millions of dollars, to help a friend's ailing airline. Kate Johns, deputy head of Tokyo Mitsubishi's legal department, persuaded colleagues to ignore rules and approve huge money transfers in 2006 which ended up in the accounts of Indonesian carrier Air Efata. (AFP) Oct 15 Financial firms to slash graduate hiring by almost half next year Nomura Holdings Inc., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group Inc. and their biggest rivals plan to cut hiring of university graduates by almost half, just as the industry begins emerging from its deepest slump in seven decades. Companies typically add a new class of graduates at the start of every fiscal year on April 1. Nomura, the country's biggest brokerage, plans to hire 500 graduates, compared with 650 a year earlier. (Japan Times) Oct 8 Does Japan want real banks or not? A stroll through Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, one of Japan's megabanks, feels like a throwback to the 1980s: gray, fluorescent-lit hallways, patchy carpets, cigarette-smoke wafting through offices and salarymen shuffling to meetings. Except that while the rest of the world has moved on from that era, Japan and its policy makers are stuck there, still trying to figure out what role, exactly, they want banks to play in their economy. (Wall Street Journal) [ More... ]