Honda to Exit South Korea Auto Market at Year-End Due to Sluggish Sales
Honda Motor Co announced it will withdraw its passenger‑car operations from South Korea by year‑end, ending a 22‑year presence that began in 2004. Sales have collapsed from a peak of about 12,000 units in 2008 to roughly 2,000 in 2025, driven by fierce competition from Hyundai and Kia. The automaker will keep its motorcycle line and continue after‑sales support, while redirecting resources toward motorcycles and electric‑vehicle development. The exit coincides with a broader strategic review that includes scaling down its EV joint venture with Sony and potential plant closures in China.
Burger King Offers Every Fast Food Franchisee in Japan ¥40 Mil to Jump Ship and Join Them
Burger King is accelerating its Japan expansion, growing from 77 to 352 stores and targeting 600 locations by 2028 after Goldman Sachs acquired the chain for roughly $506 million. To speed conversion, BK is offering up to ¥40 million (about $260,000) to...
Japan Records Trade Deficit for 5th Straight Year as Trump's Tariffs Hit Auto Exports
Japan recorded a ¥1.7 trillion ($10.7 billion) trade deficit for the fiscal year ending March, marking the fifth consecutive year of shortfalls. Exports rose 4% while imports grew only 0.5%, but U.S. tariffs slashed auto shipments to the United States by 16%,...
McDonald's Japan Starts to Rehire Ex-Workers for Flexible 'Spot' Work Hours
McDonald’s Japan has launched a "Come Back! Crew" program that lets former employees return for one‑off, flexible shifts without submitting resumes or attending interviews. The initiative targets a pool of roughly three million ex‑staff and is already active in about 1,000...
Hitachi to Sell Home Appliance Business to Electronics Retailer Nojima
Hitachi Ltd announced it will spin off its home‑appliance division and sell an 80.1% stake to electronics retailer Nojima Corp for about 110 billion yen ($693 million). Hitachi Global Life Solutions will retain the remaining 19.9% and keep the Hitachi brand, while...
Soft Drink Vending Machines in Japan Fall Below 2 Million for 1st Time
Japan’s soft‑drink vending machine fleet slipped to 1.95 million units in 2025, marking the first time the count fell below two million in three decades. The decline represents a 20 percent drop from the 2014 peak and the steepest annual reduction since...
AirAsia X to Raise Fares, Cut Capacity over Middle East War
AirAsia X announced a 10 percent cut to its flight schedule and a modest fare increase to offset soaring fuel costs caused by the Iran‑Israel war. Despite the capacity reduction, the carrier will launch its Bahrain hub in June, signaling confidence in...
Airbus Bets on Copter Capability for Tomorrow's War Drones
Airbus Helicopters is leveraging its rotorcraft expertise to develop tactical drones at its Pierrelatte facility, aiming to double production by 2027. The site currently builds the 25‑kg Aliaca and the 120‑kg Capa‑X drones, with 20 Aliaca and 10 Capa‑X slated...
Tesla Sales Rise After Brutal Year of Musk Boycotts but Still Fall Short of Expectations
Tesla reported a 6% rise in first‑quarter vehicle deliveries, reaching 358,023 units – the first quarterly increase in three years. However, the figure fell 6% short of FactSet’s 381,000 forecast, disappointing investors. The dip follows a year of declining sales...
Job Openings Fall to 6.9 Million in February, Another Hint of Sluggish Hiring in America
U.S. job openings fell to 6.9 million in February, down from 7.2 million in January, while quits dropped to the lowest level since August 2020. Gross hires slipped to 4.85 million, the fewest since April 2020, pushing the hiring rate to 3.1 percent, also a pandemic‑era...
Japan's February Jobless Rate Falls to 2.6%; 1st Improvement in 7 Months
Japan's unemployment rate fell to 2.6% in February, marking the first decline in seven months. Employment rose modestly to 68.27 million while the pool of job seekers shrank to 530,000. Layoffs dropped 4.4% and voluntary quits fell 7.3%, indicating a modest...
Parmesan Exports Doing Grate... But Sales Melt in Italy
Parmesan Reggiano exports surpassed the 50% threshold last year, reaching nearly 75,000 tonnes, a 2.7% increase driven by stronger U.S. shipments that grew 2.3% despite a 25% tariff. Domestic sales in Italy fell 10% as the aging population cuts back...
M'bishi Electric, Toshiba, Rohm Sign Accord on Chip Business Merger Talks
Japanese electronics giants Mitsubishi Electric, Toshiba and Rohm have signed a memorandum of understanding to begin talks on merging their power semiconductor businesses. The three firms, which together will hold about 11% of the global market by 2025, aim to...
Another PlayStation Price Hike Means Gaming Console Will Cost 30% More than It Did Last Year
Sony announced a second price increase for its PlayStation 5 within a year, raising the standard model to $649.99 and the digital edition to $599.99, while the new PS5 Pro will cost $899.99. The hikes represent roughly a 30% rise...
Southeast Asia Revisits Nuclear Power Plans for AI Data Centers
Southeast Asian nations are reviving nuclear power plans to meet soaring electricity demand driven by AI‑focused data centers. Five ASEAN members—including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand and the Philippines—have set targets to commission nuclear capacity by the early 2030s, with small...