Toyota-backed flying car startup Joby Aviation to boost US production
AZUSA KAWAKAMI
NEW YORK -- Joby Aviation, a U.S. flying car startup that counts Toyota Motor as its top investor, is expected to expand production capacity in the U.S. as the Trump administration aims to develop the unmanned aircraft industry.
Joby said it will expand its Marina, California, facility to increase production capacity for its main electric vertical takeoff and landing aircraft (eVTOL), aiming to build 24 aircraft a year.
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Nikkei Asia
15 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
EU-China summit, Shanghai AI conference, Taiwan recall votes
Welcome to Your Week in Asia. Amid a shifting geopolitical order, European Union leaders are set to visit Beijing for a summit during which bilateral tensions are expected to dominate, even as China tries to use the fallout from U.S. President Donald Trump's policies to bolster its global position. Across the Taiwan Strait, voters will be preparing to cast their ballots over potential recalls of Kuomintang lawmakers. In Japan, as markets seek to make sense of the upper house election result, the Bank of Japan's deputy governor is expected to offer some hints to the central bank's policy direction in a speech. Get the best of our coverage of Asia and much more by following us on X, where our handle is @NikkeiAsia. We are also now on Bluesky, with the handle @ MONDAY Marcos' trip to U.S. Philippine President Ferdinand Marcos Jr.'s visit to the U.S. at Trump's invitation continues through Tuesday. Beyond tariff-related concerns, the long-standing allies are expected to address the evolving dynamics of their partnership, particularly in light of China's expanding influence. TUESDAY Data: Malaysia consumer price index WEDNESDAY ADB economic outlook The Asian Development Bank is set to release the latest update to its flagship "Asian Development Outlook" report, with the publication coming at a crucial time given the evolving impact of the U.S.-China trade war. In the previous edition, the multilateral lender flagged the impact of Trump's "reciprocal" tariffs in Asia, a region that faces the highest duties in the world. BOJ deputy governor speech Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Shinichi Uchida will give a speech at a meeting with leaders in Kochi Prefecture. His remarks will be closely followed by market participants, as they will come just days after the July 20 upper house election, with the central bank's next monetary policy meeting following not long after at the end of the month. Earnings: Tesla, Infosys, Dr. Reddy's THURSDAY EU-China summit European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen and her delegation arrive in Beijing following a visit to Tokyo the previous day. Amid trade disputes and Beijing's support for Russia, the EU team are likely to face a frostier reception in China. Beijing has already set the tone by halving the invitation to one day, and it is unsure if President Xi Jinping will even attend the summit. Indonesia auto show Nearly 40 passenger vehicle brands, including BYD, Hyundai, Mitsubishi Motors and Toyota, will take part in the Gaikindo Indonesia International Auto Show organized by the Association of Indonesian Automotive Manufacturers. The event, which is being held in a Jakarta suburb, comes at a time when Indonesia's shrinking middle class is impacting ASEAN's largest auto market. Earnings: Mitsubishi Motors, Nestle India, SK Hynix, Hyundai Motor Data: India flash purchasing managers index Monetary policy: Turkey FRIDAY Earnings: LG Energy Solutions SATURDAY Shanghai AI conference The World Artificial Intelligence Conference, China's largest AI exhibition, opens in Shanghai. The annual event, lasting four days, is expected to showcase over 3,000 cutting-edge exhibits from tech companies including Alibaba Group, Moore Threads Technologies, QuantumCtek and Tesla. Taiwan recall elections No-confidence votes will be held against 24 KMT lawmakers, the first in a series of moves to potentially recall up to 31 of them. The action stems from growing backlash by lawyers, protesters and civil society groups against the KMT-led legislature's policies, which have impacted President Lai Ching-te's government budgets, the operations of the top court and defense and foreign policy initiatives. Earnings: Kotak Mahindra Bank
The Mainichi
15 hours ago
- The Mainichi
Trump's tariff threat pushes Lula's popularity and worsens legal troubles for Brazil's ex-leader
SAO PAULO (AP) -- U.S. President Donald Trump may have thought that pressuring Brazil with higher tariffs would help his ally, the country's former President Jair Bolsonaro, but the move apparently backfired. Last week, Trump sent a letter to Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva threatening a 50% import tax and directly linking the decision to Bolsonaro's trial, which he called a "witch hunt." "This trial should end immediately!" Trump wrote Thursday evening in a second letter, this one addressed to Bolsonaro. He added that he had "strongly voiced" his disapproval through his tariff policy. Rather than backing down, Brazil's Supreme Court escalated the case, worsening Bolsonaro's legal troubles. On Friday morning, federal police raided Bolsonaro's home and political office. The former president was ordered to wear an ankle monitor, banned from using social media, and hit with other restrictions. Meanwhile, President Lula -- who was facing higher unpopularity, growing opposition in Congress and increasing risks to his likely reelection bid -- seems to have gained politically from the situation. Now the 79-year-old leftist Lula, in office for the third non-consecutive term of his long political career, is seeing renewed acceptance, congressional support against Trump and pleas to run one last time to defend Brazil's sovereignty. Back in the game Lula has appeared more energized in public since Trump's announcement. At a national students assembly Thursday, he wore a blue cap reading "Sovereign Brazil Unites Us" -- a contrast to MAGA's red cap. "A gringo will not give orders to this president," he told the crowd, and called the tariff hike "unacceptable blackmail." The impact on Lula is not a first. Trump's actions targeting other countries have boosted ideological rivals in Canada and Australia instead of strengthening his allies at a local level. Private pollster Atlas said Tuesday that Lula's unpopularity had reversed course after his spat with Trump. Lula's job approval went from at 47.3% in June to 49.7% since the tariffs battle began. The poll of more than 2,800 people was conducted July 11-13, with a margin of error of 2 percentage points. The study also said 62.2% of Brazilians think the higher tariffs are unjustified while 36.8% agree with the measure. Even Bolsonaro's former vice president, Sen. Hamilton Mourao, criticized Trump's move as undue interference in Brazil's politics, though he said he agreed the trial against the far-right leader is biased against him. Social media analytics firm Palver analyzed 20,000 messages about Trump on WhatsApp, Brazil's most widely used communication platform, a day after Trump's announcement. Its analysis said right-wing users dominated viral content, but spontaneous conversations leaned left, mocking Bolsonaro as submissive and defending Brazil's sovereignty. "Trump has put Lula back in the game," said Thomas Traumann, an independent political consultant and former spokesman for the Brazilian presidency who only weeks ago argued that Lula had lost his front-runner status in the presidential race as he struggled to deliver on his promises on the economy. "Trump handed it to Lula on a silver platter," Traumann said. Business leaders who until recently sided with Bolsonaro are having to court Lula to negotiate with Trump. Agribusiness, Brazil's largest economic sector and a traditional right-wing stronghold, united to criticize the U.S. president's move. Industry groups were quick to denounce the tariffs as politically motivated and lacking any commercial justification. National outrage "In general, with the major exception of a more radical conservative wing, (Trump's move) generated national outrage for violating Brazil's sovereignty," lawmaker Arnaldo Jardim, a member of the congressional agricultural caucus, told The Associated Press. Jardim, who pushed for the approval of a reciprocity bill that could be used by Lula if there's no agreement until the Aug. 1 deadline, hardly sides with the president. "Even among sectors that initially thought this could benefit Bolsonaro, many had to reconsider their positions," he said. Top congressional leaders who recently helped nix a Lula decree to raise a transactions tax were moving toward a head-on collision with him. After Trump's announcement, they signed a joint statement agreeing with Lula's promise to use the reciprocity law against the U.S. In another change, Brazil's Congress decided to start moving on Lula's plan to give an income tax break to millions of poorer Brazilians. Many politicians said that such initiative was dead after Lula became the first president in three decades to have a decree annulled by lawmakers. Bolsonaro remains on trial At the Supreme Court, Bolsonaro is only getting deeper into trouble as his trial continues. Earlier this week, Brazil's chief prosecutor called for a guilty verdict, accusing the former president of leading an armed criminal organization, attempting to stage a coup and attempting violent abolition of the democratic rule of law, among other charges. The defense will next likely present its case in the coming weeks, after which the panel of Supreme Court justices in the trial will vote on whether to convict or acquit him. The former president also suffered more consequences -- the court's latest restrictions on Bolsonaro, including the ankle monitor, are part of a second investigation against one of his sons, Eduardo Bolsonaro, a Brazilian lawmaker who currently lives in the United States and is known for his close ties to Trump. He has been under scrutiny for allegedly working with U.S. authorities to impose sanctions against Brazilian officials. Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes, who oversees criminal cases against Bolsonaro, said his and his son's actions attempted to pressure the Brazilian judiciary by involving the U.S. The court's decision cited both Trump's letter to Lula and several social media posts by the Bolsonaros in support of sanctions against Brazilian officials and speaking favorably about tariffs. "A sovereign country like Brazil will always know how to defend its democracy and sovereignty," de Moraes said. "The judiciary will not allow any attempt to subject the functioning of the Supreme Court to the scrutiny of another state through hostile acts." Jair Bolsonaro told journalists in Brasilia, the country's capital, that the ankle monitoring was a "supreme humiliation." "I never thought about leaving Brazil, I never thought about going to an embassy, but the precautionary measures are because of that," the former president said. In a statement, Eduardo Bolsonaro accused de Moraes of trying to criminalize Trump and the U.S. government. "Since he has no power over them, he decided to make my father a hostage," the younger Bolsonaro said of the judge.
The Mainichi
18 hours ago
- The Mainichi
With gavel in hand, Trump chisels away at the power of a compliant Congress
WASHINGTON (AP) -- "Mr. President, this is the gavel used to enact the 'big, beautiful bill,'" House Speaker Mike Johnson said at a White House signing ceremony on the Fourth of July. "I want you to have it," he said. Handing over the gavel delighted President Donald Trump who, seated behind a desk outdoors, immediately tested it out with a few quick thumps. The moment left a memorable mark on a historic day. The gesture reflected a traditional nod of honor, from one leader to another, a milestone of the Republican Party's priority legislation becoming law. But the imagery also underscored a symbolic transfer of political power, from Capitol Hill to the White House as a compliant Congress is ceding more and more of its prerogative to the presidency. Congress gives Trump what he wants Since Trump's return to the White House in January, and particularly in the past few weeks, Republicans in control of the House and Senate have shown an unusual willingness to give the president of their party what he wants, regardless of the potential risk to themselves, their constituents and Congress itself. Republicans raced to put the big package of tax breaks and spending cuts on Trump's desk by his Independence Day deadline. Senators had quickly confirmed almost all of Trump's outsider Cabinet nominees despite grave reservations over Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as health secretary, Pete Hegseth as the Pentagon chief and others. House Republicans pursued Trump's interest in investigating his perceived foes, including investigating Democratic President Joe Biden'suse of the autopen. But at the same time, Congress hit the brakes on one of its own priorities, legislation imposing steep sanctions on Russia over its war on Ukraine, after Trump announced he was allowing President Vladimir Putin an additional 50 days to negotiate a peace deal, dashing hopes for a swifter end to the conflict. This past week, Congress was tested anew, delivering on Trump's request to rescind some $9 billion that lawmakers had approved but that the administration wanted to eliminate, including money for public broadcasting and overseas aid. It was a rare presidential request, a challenge to the legislative branch's power of the purse, that has not been used in decades. The pressure on Republicans is taking its toll "We're lawmakers. We should be legislating," said a defiant Sen. Lisa Murkowksi, R-Alaska, as she refused to support the White House's demand to rescind money for National Public Radio and others. "What we're getting now is a direction from the White House and being told, 'This is the priority. We want you to execute on it. We'll be back with you with another round,'" she said. "I don't accept that." Congress, the branch of government the Founding Fathers placed first in the Constitution, is at a familiar crossroads. During the first Trump administration, Republicans frightened by Trump's angry tweets of disapproval would keep their criticisms private. Those who did speak up -- Liz Cheney of Wyoming in the House and Mitt Romney of Utah in the Senate, among others -- are gone from Capitol Hill. One former GOP senator, Jeff Flake of Arizona, who announced in 2017 during Trump's first term that he would not seek reelection the next year, is imploring Republicans to find a better way. "The fever still hasn't broken," he wrote recently in The New York Times. "In today's Republican Party, voting your conscience is essentially disqualifying." Seeking a 'normal' Congress But this time, the halls of Congress are filled with many Republicans who came of political age with Trump's "Make America Great Again" movement and owe their ascent to the president himself. Many are emulating his brand and style as they shape their own. A new generation of GOP leaders, Johnson in the House and Senate Majority Leader John Thune, have pulled closer to Trump. They are utilizing the power of the presidency in ways large and small -- to broker deals, encourage wayward lawmakers to fall in line, even to set schedules. Johnson, R-La., has openly pined for what he calls a "normal Congress." But short of that, the speaker relies on Trump to help stay on track. When Republicans hit an impasse on cryptocurrency legislation, a Trump priority, it was the president who met with holdouts in the Oval Office late Tuesday night as Johnson called in by phone. The result is a perceptible imbalance of power as the executive exerts greater authority while the legislative branch dims. The judicial branch has been left to do the heavy lift of checks and balances with the courts processing hundreds of lawsuits over the administration's actions. "The genius of our Constitution is the separation of power," said Democratic Rep. Nancy Pelosi of California, the former speaker, in an interview on SiriusXM's "Mornings with Zerlina." "That the Republicans in Congress would be so ignoring of the institution that they represent, and that have just melted the power of the incredibly shrinking speakership" and Senate leadership positions, "to do all of these things, to cater to the executive branch," she said. Confronting Trump comes with costs Sen. Thom Tillis, R-N.C., endured Trump's criticism over his opposition to the tax and spending cuts bill. The senator raised concerns about steep cuts to hospitals, but the president threatened to campaign against him. Tillis announced he would not seek reelection in 2026. Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, voted against that bill and the rescissions package despite Trump's threat to campaign against any dissenters. One Republican, Rep. Thomas Massie of Kentucky, appears to be pressing on, unphased. He recently proposed legislation to force the administration to release the Jeffrey Epstein files, something the president had been reluctant to do. "Nowhere in the Constitution does it say that if the president wants something, you must do it," said Sen. Brian Schatz, D-Hawaii, in a Senate speech. "We don't have to do this. We don't have to operate under the assumption that this man is uniquely so powerful."
