Japan's Denso nears deal to sell spark plug ops to market leader Niterra
MASAKI ISHIHARA and RYO ASAYAMA
NAGOYA, Japan -- Japanese auto parts supplier Denso appears set to reach a long-sought agreement to sell its spark plug operations to domestic rival Niterra, Nikkei learned Friday, as industry players restructure to balance the rise of electric vehicles and continued popularity of internal combustion engine cars including hybrids.
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The Mainichi
2 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Firms believing Japan economy growing falls to 30% amid tariff woes
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- Just a third of major Japanese firms said the domestic economy was continuing to grow, falling from the 71 percent that said so in January, reflecting uncertainty over the tariffs imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump, a Kyodo News survey showed recently. In the survey of 113 companies, just 33 percent said they expect moderate growth, while those that responded they were either "concerned" or "somewhat concerned" regarding the levies hit 68 percent. The survey was conducted between July 9 to Aug. 1 among firms including Toyota Motor Corp. and Nippon Yusen K.K., with some answers submitted before the trade agreement before Japan and the United States was agreed upon on July 23. Of the respondents, 56 percent said they believe economic growth was flat and 11 percent said it was contracting moderately. But 59 percent forecast profits to grow, while 7 percent said they are expected to fall, with the majority hoping that solid business performance will offset the pressure implemented by the tariffs. Under the trade deal agreed by Japan and the United States last month, auto and reciprocal tariffs will be lowered to 15 percent in exchange for $550 billion of Japanese investment in the United States. Prior to the agreement, autos were set to face a combined 27.5 percent tariff, while other goods were threatened with 25 percent. "Denying globalization and free trade may make the global economy struggle," paper product manufacturer Oji Holdings Corp. said about the tariffs, in the comment section of the survey. Meanwhile, 53 percent of the companies surveyed said they are planning on hiking the prices of products and services within a year amid the long-term depreciation of the yen and rising labor costs attributable to a labor shortage. Just 8 percent said they were planning on hiking wages at a higher or similar pace, while 27 percent said they were undecided. The Japanese Trade Union Confederation, also known as Rengo, said last month that its final tally of the results of pay negotiations from over 5,000 member unions found the average monthly wage hike stood at an average 5.25 percent, the second straight year it has exceeded 5 percent. However, salary growth has failed to keep pace with ongoing inflation, with the most recent data on real wages by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare showing it fell 1.3 percent in June from a year earlier, marking the sixth straight monthly decline. In a multiple-choice question asking what event would impede business, 76 percent answered an earthquake, while 56 percent said a Taiwan contingency.
The Mainichi
3 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Distillery mixes funky beats into brown sugar shochu
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- At a small distillery in the Amami Islands, speakers thump with reggae basslines, hip-hop beats and other music. It isn't for the workers, but for the barrels of "kokuto" shochu absorbing the vibrations. The team behind this "sonically aged" spirit says the music genres coax out different flavors from the spirit, adding a rhythmic twist to the centuries-old island tradition that is gaining fans far beyond Japan. "When I became the CEO in 2021 after taking over the business from my father, I knew I had to make changes to appeal to a wider range of customers," said Selena Nishihira, president of Nishihira Distillery on the sun-drenched island in Kagoshima Prefecture. Made by fermenting boiled-down sugarcane syrup with rice koji, brown sugar shochu is prized for its fragrant, mellow character. It contains no artificial sweeteners or additives. Like Japanese sake and whisky before it, this Kagoshima spirit is being rebranded for international palates as domestic alcohol consumption continues to decline. Brown sugar shochu's growth overseas is being driven by the end of pandemic-era restrictions, global interest in Japanese spirits, and the potential for food pairing. The company ships to the United States, Taiwan, Sweden, Thailand, Singapore, Poland and Britain. It sells about 600-1,200 bottles of brown sugar shochu overseas a year. Awamori, a similar distilled liquor made from long-grain rice, was produced on Amami Oshima and throughout the Ryukyu Islands. Due to the Satsuma Domain's restrictions on using local sugarcane, brown sugar shochu was produced secretly in the Amami Islands as early as the 19th century. In the desperate days of World War II, rice shortages led Amami producers to use brown sugar as a substitute. Production officially began amid the turmoil of the U.S. postwar occupation, which limited commercial transactions with mainland Japan, leading to rice scarcity. When the islands were returned to Japan in 1953, brown sugar shochu was taxed more heavily, and classified along with rum because koji, a yeast starter, was not used. However, producers convinced the government to approve brown sugar shochu as a distinct type of shochu with a lower tax rate on the condition that koji be used. After the war, Nishihira Distillery also began producing brown sugar shochu. Most of the koji production is done by hand, and traditional jugs are used for brewing, according to master distiller Yuya Kawaguchi. Although she was born into the business, Nishihira, 37, pursued a career in music after graduating from music college. "After about a decade, I finally figured out how shochu can be related to music, making the most of my musical background," she said. As CEO, she has modernized label designs and created a high-alcohol product suitable for cocktails. In November 2023, the distillery started using sonic aging, akin to the use of classical and other music in the maturation of whisky, based on a suggestion from employee John Cantu. Workers installed special speakers onto six separate barrels in a music room, playing house music, hip-hop, reggae, Latin music, rock, and "shima uta" -- the local folk music of the islands -- to see how the sounds impart different flavors. The company believes sound waves from different genres stimulate the shochu, prompting chemical reactions between the liquor and barrel wood molecules, and accelerating and modifying the aging process. "Shima uta tends to have a more soothing effect with its lower frequencies, while genres like rock or hip-hop introduce more energetic vibrations due to their higher tempo and bass-heavy nature," Nishihira writes on her company's website. Bartenders are also playing a key role in promoting brown sugar shochu, using their mixology expertise to introduce customers to the Amami spirit. With an alcohol content of around 40 percent, brown sugar shochu is strong enough to make a cocktail. "When I first tried brown sugar shochu, I was amazed by its rum-like flavor," said bartender Soran Nomura, the 41-year-old owner of several Tokyo establishments. He recently served a cocktail based on the brown sugar shochu Beni Sango, aged for over five years in oak and sherry barrels, at Quarter Room in Tokyo's Setagaya Ward. The cocktail known as Flowers is a mix of Beni Sango, osmanthus coffee, and other plant-based ingredients. It was inspired by the artwork of Andy Warhol. Nomura's menu features Amami distilleries like Nishihira brown sugar shochu. He says that his exploration of the spirit of the islands has only just begun. "I am paying respect to the individual makers and their craft, which has been cultivated in a close-knit community," Nomura said. "As a bartender, I always think about how I can promote brown sugar shochu to a wider range of customers, including those overseas." The Nishihira distillery is promoting limited "comparison sets" editions of its three-year sonic-aged brown sugar shochu through crowdfunding until the end of August and is set to go on sale in November before its official launch in 2026. As it continues to pursue overseas growth, the distillery will celebrate its 100th anniversary in 2027. "I believe we can continue to innovate the shochu tradition if we embrace new ideas and modern twists," Nishihira said.
Yomiuri Shimbun
6 hours ago
- Yomiuri Shimbun
Popularity of Kobe Bakery's ‘Anshoku' Bread Extends Beyond City Borders; Bakery Maintains ‘Local' Feel Despite Being Beloved Nationally
KOBE — The anshoku bread baked by the Kobe-based Tommy's bakery company is not only beloved by locals but also by those living outside the city. The dough is marbled with anko sweet bean paste, so each loaf of the soft, moist bread is heavier than standard white bread. The bread's name is a combination of anko and shokupan, which refers to Japanese milk bread. The fluffy and airy texture of the bread is really noticeable when the slices are thick. Lightly toasting the bread and spreading butter on it enhances the anko's sweetness, as it mixes with the slight saltiness of the butter. The bread originates in Kobe but now has fans nationwide. 'We ship the product to department stores and high-end supermarkets,' said Takashi Kikuchi, 55, a board member and sales director of the company. 'We send them three to five times more than what we sell in our stores.' The company was founded in 1977 by Kikuchi's father Tomio, who died in 2020 at the age of 79. The first store was opened in the Dainichi Shotengai shopping area near Hankyu Kasuganomichi Station in Chuo Ward, Kobe. Kikuchi's brother Hiroshi, 52, is the current president of the company. Tomio was from Okinoerabu Island in Kagoshima Prefecture. After graduating from junior high school, he moved to Okinawa Prefecture, which was still occupied by the United States, and worked as a salesman for a company that sold baking and confectionery materials. There, he learned about what was necessary for baking delicious bread. Tomio opened a bakery in Kobe, where his wife Yasuko, 82, is from. Since then, the bakery's breads have been loved by the local community. Tomio was particular about shokupan. Despite the high cost of fresh cream, which has a high fat content, he used it to bake soft, moist bread. Anshoku, the bakery's signature bread, was created based on the requests of his regulars. They would ask him such questions as 'My children won't eat the crusts, so do you have bread that has a delicious crust?' and 'You sell anpan sweet bean paste buns, so can't you put anko in shokupan?' He developed the recipe through trial and error and used a method of manually mixing anko, made from azuki beans with a high sugar content from Hokkaido, into the dough. As the popularity of anshoku boomed, the company needed more company moved to the Sumiyoshidai district in Higashinada Ward, Kobe, in 1980. Over 10 years ago, it moved again to Uozaki Minami-Machi district in the ward, where the company's main store and factory are now located. The company bakes up to 3,000 loaves of anshoku per day, along with 50 to 60 breads and sell at its stores. During its busy season, the factory operates 24 hours a day. Despite the rising cost of raw materials, the company sells most of its baked goods for ¥180, sticking to its policy that it prefers to sell delicious bread at an affordable price. While the company is known nationwide, it remains a 'local bakery.' This year, the company began providing free bread to local kodomo shokudo — a social program in which children can eat a meal for free or at a low price. 'The company's baked goods are served for children's lunches and snacks, as well as at events where local elderly people can meet and talk to each other,' said Meiko Murayama, director of a nonprofit that runs the local kodomo shokudo. 'They love the breads and look forward to eating them.' Tommy's bakery also operates a mobile store at a nursing facility for the elderly near where the main store had been located for many years in Sumiyoshidai. 'It's wonderful to see our longtime customers happy again,' Takashi Kikuchi said, as he watched the elderly customers reminisce while making their selections. 'We're fortunate to have something new to do every day,' Kikuchi added. 'From now on, we want to participate in special events in the suburbs to increase our visibility.'
