Kansai Electric to Build One of Japan's Largest Battery Storage Plants

Umeda’s Chayamachi district, located on the east side of central Osaka, is undergoing a noticeable shift as major retailers including Loft and ZARA have closed or relocated this year, even as large-scale developments such as Grand Green Osaka continue to open elsewhere in the area, raising questions about whether the district is transforming from a youth-oriented fashion hub into a center for subculture; to understand what is driving the changes, we spoke with Takanobu Okahara, president of Tsubasa Asset Partners and an expert on Osaka’s real estate trends.

The amount of property left behind by deceased individuals with no legal heirs and subsequently transferred to the state reached a record 129.1 billion yen in fiscal 2024, highlighting a steady rise in unclaimed estates as Japan’s population ages.

Nissan is considering a plan to compensate employees who transfer from its Oppama plant in Kanagawa to the company’s Kyushu factory by paying in advance the equivalent of five years’ worth of reduced monthly wages, according to reporting obtained by JNN.

The long-term interest rate briefly reached its highest level in 18 and a half years when the yield on the newly issued 10-year Japanese government bond rose to 1.910 percent on the Tokyo bond market on December 4th, reflecting speculation that the Bank of Japan will move toward an additional rate hike sooner rather than later while concerns over fiscal deterioration under the Taichi administration’s expansionary spending continue to drive selling of government bonds.

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.