Future for Japan local supermarket may lie in Indonesia
A local Japanese mom-and-pop supermarket pairs with Indonesian technical trainees in a food business abroad that benefits both sides.
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NHK
an hour ago
- NHK
Japan to ask other nations to oppose EU plan to regulate eel trade
Agriculture Minister Koizumi Shinjiro says Japan will urge other countries to jointly oppose the European Union's planned proposal to regulate international trade in eel species. Koizumi told reporters on Friday that the EU has decided to propose making all species of the fish -- including Japanese and American eel -- subject to regulations under the Washington Convention. The EU is set to table the proposal when parties to the convention, which regulates trade in endangered species, meet in November. European eel is already subject to trade controls under the pact. Grilled eel is a popular dish in Japan, especially to build up stamina during the hot summer months. The Fisheries Agency says the country relies on imports for about 70 percent of eel consumption. It says if trade in Japanese eel is regulated, imports would stall and prices could surge. Koizumi said stocks of Japanese eel are properly managed by Japan, China, South Korea and Taiwan. He said the species is not at risk of becoming extinct through international trade, as there is a sufficient amount of stocks. Koizumi called the EU's decision "extremely regrettable."
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Tokyo Electron shrugs off fears of Chinese rivals catching up
Tokyo Electron is on course to widen its lead against Chinese chip tool makers despite the billions of dollars Beijing is mobilizing to catch up, according to the Japanese company's chief. Toshiki Kawai shrugged off concerns about rising competition from China, adding that investors haven't adequately priced in Tokyo Electron's leadership in making machines that help process silicon into artificial intelligence chips. Technology at the Japanese company, whose main competitor is Applied Materials, is advancing at a pace that's faster than its Chinese rivals', due in part to close collaboration with contract chipmakers, the chief executive officer said. "We have access to cutting-edge wafers, and our ability to provide cutting-edge process technology will become overwhelmingly faster than Chinese makers,' Kawai said in an interview. "Because we have such a strong lineup of products, Tokyo Electron can be in alignment with a technology roadmap that spans 10 years alongside the world's leading device makers.' That roadmap covers roughly four generations of chip processing technology and represents significant potential for further growth as the pace of innovation accelerates, he said. "The gap will continue to widen.' Kawai's confidence is in the face of a national push in China to work around U.S.-led export restrictions on chipmaking knowhow. China's Advanced Micro-Fabrication Equipment, Naura Technology Group and Shanghai Micro Electronics Equipment Group are spending heavily to develop cutting-edge chip equipment. That's while customers like Semiconductor Manufacturing International and Hua Hong Semiconductor have been buoyed by pressure from Beijing on its tech sector to source more chips from domestic manufacturers. To maintain its leadership, Tokyo Electron plans to invest ¥1.5 trillion ($10.5 billion) in research and development and hire 10,000 engineers over the next five years — or about 2,000 every year — to bring up the total number of employees to more than 30,000. More than 25,000 college graduates applied for 500 positions this year. The company's shares remain weighed down by fears about rising competition and its exposure to China, however. A series of U.S.-led measures to limit China's ability to obtain chip gear and services are making investors fearful that the Tokyo company — which earned almost half of its revenue in China at one point last year — may suddenly be forced to halt its business with Chinese customers, Bloomberg Intelligence analyst Masahiro Wakasugi said. Tokyo Electron's shares are down around 25% from a year ago. "We are not at all satisfied with our current market cap,' Kawai said, adding that the company targets a dividend payout ratio at more than 50% and plans to implement flexible share buybacks. Tokyo Electron was among the top five most valuable companies on the Tokyo Stock Exchange during most of April last year. The company would work to regain that standing, he said. Customers investing in an AI hardware boom are more than making up for any declines in China and lowering Tokyo Electron's reliance there, Kawai said. Revenue from China is expected to settle at around 30% of total sales, down from less than 40% in the second half of last fiscal year, he said. The company is on course to hit its target operating profit of at least ¥1 trillion on sales of more than ¥3 trillion revenue by 2027, Kawai said. Tokyo Electron generated ¥697 billion operating profit on revenue of ¥2.4 trillion in the just-ended fiscal year. The company's exposure to potential U.S. tariffs is also limited as it earns just 8% of total revenue from America, and there's no foreign exchange rate fluctuation risks because the company transacts in yen with customers, he said. Nor has demand for chip tools fallen with the emergence of cheaper AI models such as DeepSeek, he said. "Even as various AI solutions emerge, the demands don't change,' he said. "Tokyo Electron is always pursuing the latest cutting-edge technology, so we believe there will be no issues with our growth.'
Japan Times
2 hours ago
- Japan Times
Toyota sales hit third monthly record on Japan and U.S. demand
Toyota's sales reached a third straight monthly record in May on strong demand for hybrid vehicles in the United States, Japan and China, even as global automakers braced for big losses triggered by U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs on imported cars. Toyota's global sales — including subsidiaries Daihatsu and Hino — reached 955,532 vehicles last month, up 8% from a year earlier, the company said Friday. Worldwide production came in at 906,984 units. Toyota and its Lexus brand vehicle sales rose more than 4% in Japan, 7% in China and 11% in North America. The world's biggest carmaker will raise the prices next month of some vehicles it sells in the U.S. by more than $200, as part of a regular revision based on factors that include market conditions and competition, a spokesperson said last week. The move came after Mitsubishi Motors announced it was hiking U.S. prices for three models. Major automakers have been scrambling to minimize the fallout of the trade war between the U.S. and China. Japan's biggest carmakers, which rely heavily on the U.S. market, are facing billions in losses should Tokyo's negotiations with the White House fail to lower tariff levels. Toyota said in May that it was expecting a ¥180 billion ($1.2 billion) hit from tariffs in April and May alone. Nissan and Honda both forecast a $3 billion impact, while Subaru and Mazda withheld their annual profit guidance for the fiscal year ending March 2026. Honda's global sales were down 4% in May to 298,167 units, while production fell 6%, the company said Friday. Nissan sold 256,159 units last month, a 6% drop from last year, as output fell almost 17% to 229,645 units. Japan's chief trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa said Thursday that the nation can't accept Trump's 25% auto tariffs. Japanese automakers produce roughly 3.3 million cars annually in the U.S., Akazawa said, which is much more than the 1.37 million they ship there. Earlier this month, Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda was reappointed with 97% of voted shares during the company's annual general meeting. After a three-year slump in investor support, the rebound signaled a tacit approval of the carmaker's steady performance through a particularly tumultuous period for the global automobile industry.
