Japan used car dealers suffer as weak yen benefits foreign rivals
RISAKO KOJIMA and SOTA TANAKA
TOKYO -- Bankruptcies of used car dealerships in Japan are increasing despite strong demand due to higher inflation, as a weak yen benefits foreign dealers buying automobiles at auction.
In the first five months of the year, 50 used auto dealerships filed for bankruptcy, a 56% rise compared with the same period last year, according to corporate research company Teikoku Databank. The surge in bankruptcies is nearing a record high in 2009 after the global financial crisis.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
26 minutes ago
Kioxia to Issue Up to 3 B. Dollars in Corporate Bonds
News from Japan Economy Jul 14, 2025 18:45 (JST) Tokyo, July 14 (Jiji Press)--Major Japanese flash memory maker Kioxia Holdings Corp. said Monday that it will issue up to 3 billion dollars, or about 440 billion yen, in dollar-denominated corporate bonds. Kioxia plans to use up to 331 billion yen of the proceeds from the bond issuance to repurchase all preferred shares held by the Development Bank of Japan, with the aim of reducing the burden of paying dividends for such shares, which are higher than those for ordinary stocks. The bond issuance and the acquisition of preferred shares will be conducted by August 1. Kioxia will also refinance existing loans and newly borrow a total of 447.5 billion yen from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., MUFG Bank, Mizuho Bank and the government-backed DBJ. The repayment date will be extended from June 2027 to the end of July 2029, and collateral will no longer be required. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.] Jiji Press
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Honda, Nissan to create common operating system for next-gen cars
Nissan and Honda, whose merger talks collapsed earlier this year, have continued to work together in a number of areas, including automotive software development. Nikkei staff writers TOKYO -- Honda Motor and Nissan Motor have entered into discussions to standardize the basic software that controls their vehicles to try to catch up to Chinese electric vehicle makers and Tesla of the U.S, Nikkei has learned. The two Japanese companies plan to introduce vehicles equipped with a new operating system by the late 2020s. In December 2024, the two carmakers entered talks to form the world's third-largest automotive alliance. Although the negotiations collapsed due to differences over terms, discussions on collaboration continued. With a shared goal on software integration, the partnership is moving forward.
Nikkei Asia
2 hours ago
- Nikkei Asia
Japan-backed chipmaker JS Foundry files for bankruptcy
JS Foundry was set up by Mercuria Investment and Sangyo Sosei Advisory in December 2022. Nikkei staff writers TOKYO -- Japanese government-backed contract chipmaker JS Foundry has filed for bankruptcy protection with the Tokyo District Court on Monday. The Tokyo-based company is a producer of power semiconductors that are typically used for regulating electric power flows and installed in large electric equipment such as electric vehicles, home appliances and trains.
