Couche-Tard Still Seeking Seven & I Deal, Access to Financials
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Alimentation Couche-Tard Inc. is keeping up its pursuit of Seven & i Holdings Co. but has yet to gain access to the Japanese company's financials, months after proposing a takeover, people with knowledge of the matter said.
A competing ¥9 trillion ($60 billion) proposal by the founding Ito family and Itochu Corp. to take the operator of 7-Eleven stores private has stalled over disagreements about management control, people familiar with the discussions said this week.
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Forbes
4 hours ago
- Forbes
Japan's Fast-Growing Wine Market Embraces Natural Wine
Carefully grown Japanese wine grapes. Japanese wine is gaining momentum. As of 2024, there were 493 wineries in Japan, jumping from 238 in 2008—more than doubled in 16 years, according to the Japanese government. The wineries are now in 46 prefectures out of the total 47, indicating that each prefecture has potential for wine production. Some American importers have already noticed the rapid development of Japanese wine. One of them is Direct Import Vines (D-I Wine) a natural wine importer in New York, 'What we love about Japan's wine is how it reflects the country's deep dedication to craft, precision and subtlety. The same meticulous attention to detail that defines Japanese cuisine and design shows up in the vineyards and cellars, with winemakers carefully coaxing out dedicated, expressive flavors from native grapes like Koshu and Muscat Bailey A," says D-I Wine's founder Bretton Taylor. The company started to import Japanese wine in 2021 and now has a portfolio of 8 wineries in 5 different regions. A variety of wine that reflects Japanese terroir. One of them is Coco Farm & Winery It was founded in 1958 by educator Noboru Kawada to provide meaningful work for individuals with learning disabilities. All wines are made with grapes grown in Japan and no chemical fertilizers or herbicides are used in its vineyards; natural wild yeast is the main fermentation method in the winery. Coco Farm's wine has been highly acclaimed. It has been served at G7 summits and on Japan Airlines' first and business classes, for example. 'We started to have increasingly more export inquiries from overseas in the past few years. They seem to be interested in Japanese wine's clear, delicate expression of the grapes, often with gentle umami, which goes well with Japanese food as well as other various types of cuisine,' says Shoko Ochi, director of communication at Coco Farm. 'Within Japan, there is a wide range of micro-terroir. The farms we work with beautifully express it,' she says. To showcase the diversity and the character of each micro-terroir, Coco Farm procures grapes from reliable natural grape growers nationwide, in addition to its own vineyards in Tochigi, Yamagata and Hokkaido Prefectures. As a result, the company makes wine with around 30 different varieties, such as Japanese native Muscat Bailey A, Southern French grape Tannat and global grapes like Pinot Noir and Chardonnay. For instance, Coco Farm's 2019 Zweigelt has distinctive characters. Made with the Austrian grape variety grown in the cool climate of Hokkaido, it has notes of cassis, black cherry and cinnamon with some peppery spiciness. There is subtle earthiness in the finish, which makes the wine uniquely Japanese. Coco Farm & Winery makes wine with grapes from its vineyards painstakingly cared for by hand. Reasons Behind The Rapid Growth Of The Wine Industry Why has Japanese wine production seen such a dramatic surge? One of the reasons is the creation of the special wine districts by the Japanese government in 2002. Within the wine districts, the minimum production volumes of 6,000 kiloliters for wineries are lowered to 2,000 kiloliters, as long as the products are made with grapes grown in the region. The new law made it much easier to start a winery at a lower cost. Also, in 2003, the Japan Wine Competition began, where wine made with 100% grapes grown and vinified in Japan is evaluated and ranked by a committee of wine professionals and academics. It is organized by major wine-producing prefectures and the Japanese government to recognize the quality of Japanese wine. The annual competition has shown a wide range of high-quality products and inspired wineries nationwide to aim for higher goals. Also, Japanese wine started to receive top awards at the world's biggest wine competitions, such as the IWSC International Wine & Spirit Competition, the Decanter World Wine Awards and the International Wine Challenge. The success in the global market has also stimulated new entries into wine production in Japan. Dynamic Natural Wine Market If you like natural wine, Japanese wine is something you should keep your eye on. 'In Tokyo, one of the world's most dynamic wine markets, sommeliers, chefs and wine lovers not just enjoy natural wine. They celebrate it,' says Taylor of D-I Wine. 'As a natural wine importer, our biggest competition is Japan. We find some very small vineyards in France that say they won't export, with the exception of their Japanese importers—because they are very important customers for French winemakers. Whenever we tour or try to discover new wineries in France, the Japanese importers have already been there. Sometimes they are discovering French wines that the Parisians haven't discovered yet.' To reflect Japanese importers' enthusiasm and hard work, consumers are interested in natural wine. A 2024 survey of 1,500 individuals between 20 and 70 years old, 50% male and female respectively, 23.1% of the respondents were interested in drinking natural wine. Interestingly, only 15.7% of the respondents said they wanted to drink organic/biodynamic wine, suggesting consumers are attracted to natural wine's diverse styles and genuine expression of terroir. There are no data on how many natural wine producers like Coco Farm exist in Japan, but an online natural wine shop lists 350 natural wine labels made in Japan, for example. The number is small, but it suggests that the natural wine segment has established its own place in the domestic market. Japanese natural wine seems to have the potential to stand out in the global market as well. 'Japanese wine is still relatively new on the international stage, but it's already carving out a unique identity—one that feels deeply tied to place, tradition, and innovation all at once. What excites us most is the way Japanese winemakers are blending native varieties like Muscat Bailey A and Koshu with modern, low-intervention techniques and a cultural approach rooted in precision and humility,' he says. The results are wines that are subtle but expressive, often with lower alcohol, clear umami, and a real sense of atmosphere. 'They are the wines that whisper, not shout. It's a category that rewards attention and curiosity, and we think it's only just getting started,' says Taylor. Diverse terrain makes Japanese wine unique.
12 hours ago
Trump says Japan will invest $550 billion in US at his direction. It may not be a sure thing
WASHINGTON -- President Donald Trump is bragging that Japan has given him, as part of a new trade framework, $550 billion to invest in the United States. It's an astonishing figure, but still subject to negotiation and perhaps not the sure thing he's portraying. "Japan is putting up $550 billion in order to lower their tariffs a little bit," Trump said Thursday. 'They put up, as you could call it, seed money. Let's call it seed money.' He said 90% of any profits from the money invested would go to the U.S. even if Japan had put up the funds. 'It's not a loan or anything, it's a signing bonus,' the Republican president said, on the trade framework that lowered his threatened tariff from 25% to 15%, including on autos. A White House official said the terms are being negotiated and nothing has been formalized in writing. The official, who insisted on anonymity to detail the terms of the talks, suggested the goal was for the $550 billion fund to make investments at Trump's direction. The sum is significant: It would represent more than 10% of Japan's entire gross domestic product. The Japan External Trade Organization estimates that direct investment into the U.S. economy topped $780 billion in 2023. It is unclear the degree to which the $550 billion could represent new investment or flow into existing investment plans. What the trade framework announced Tuesday has achieved is a major talking point for the Trump administration. The president has claimed to have brought trillions of dollars in new investment into the U.S., though the impact of those commitments have yet to appear in the economic data for jobs, construction spending or manufacturing output. The framework also enabled Trump to say other countries are agreeing to have their goods taxed, even if some of the cost of those taxes are ultimately passed along to U.S. consumers. On the $550 billion, Japan's Cabinet Office said it involves the credit facility of state-affiliated financial institutions, such as Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Further details would be decided based on the progress of the investment deals. Japanese trade negotiator Ryosei Akazawa, upon returning to Japan, did not discuss the terms of the $550 billion investment. Akazawa said he believes a written joint statement is necessary, at least on working levels, to avoid differences. He is not thinking about a legally binding trade pact. The U.S. apparently released its version of the deal while Japanese officials were on their return flight home. 'If we find differences of understanding, we may have to point them out and say 'that's not what we discussed,'' Akazawa said. The U.S. administration said the fund would be invested in critical minerals, pharmaceuticals, computer chips and shipbuilding, among other industries. It has said Japan will also buy 100 airplanes from Boeing and rice from U.S. farmers as part of the framework, which Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said would be evaluated every three months. 'And if the president is unhappy, then they will boomerang back to the 25% tariff rates, both on cars and the rest of their products. And I can tell you that I think at 25, especially in cars, the Japanese economy doesn't work,' Bessent told Fox News' 'The Ingraham Angle.' Akazawa denied that Bessent's quarterly review was part of the negotiations. 'In my past eight trips to the United States during which I held talks with the president and the ministers," Akazawa said. 'I have no recollection of discussing how we ensure the implementation of the latest agreement between Japan and the United States.' He said it would cause major disruptions to the economy and administrative processes if the rates first rise to 25% as scheduled on Aug. 1 and then drop to 15%. 'We definitely want to avoid that and I believe that is the understanding shared by the U.S. side,' he said. On buying U.S. rice, Japanese officials have said they have no plans to raise the current 770,000-ton 'minimum access' cap to import more from America. Agricultural Minister Shinjiro Koizumi said Japan will decide whether to increase U.S. rice imports and that Japan is not committed to a fixed quota. Trump's commerce secretary, Howard Lutnick, has suggested that the Japanese agreement is putting pressure on other countries such as South Korea to strike deals with the U.S. Trump, who is traveling in Scotland, plans to meet on Sundayv with European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen to discuss trade. 'Whatever Donald Trump wants to build, the Japanese will finance it for him,' Lutnick said Thursday on CNBC. 'Pretty amazing.'
San Francisco Chronicle
21 hours ago
- San Francisco Chronicle
North Bay Nissan dealership closes amid automaker's financial struggles
As its parent company struggles financially, a North Bay Nissan dealership has permanently closed. A note by the Petaluma dealership's employees on their website Friday afternoon announced the closure, which follows several others in the Bay Area in recent years. 'As of 3 pm on July 25th, we have officially concluded our operations as North Bay Nissan,' the statement said. 'It has been a true honor serving the Petaluma and North Bay communities and we are deeply grateful for your loyalty over the years.' More details were not immediately available Saturday morning. The closure comes as North Bay Nissan's parent company, Nissan Motor Co., has weathered significant losses in recent years, leading to factory closures and thousands of job cuts. The company entered the American market in the late 1950s and by the 1970s as one of the world's largest exporters of automobiles. But the automotive giant ran into serious trouble over the past decade after its former CEO was jailed for underreporting his income to Japanese financial authorities and scandal engulfed the company. Over the past five years, the company has laid off thousands of employees, cut production and closed factories. Last November, Nissan announced a plan to cut thousands more employees, and one executive reportedly warned that without a major turnaround, the company would cease to exist in '12 to 14 months.' Nissan's troubles only grew this year, when the carmaker posted its worst financial results in 25 years and after President Donald Trump threatened to impose tariffs on imported vehicles, which make up a significant portion of the company's U.S. sales. Several other Nissan dealerships have also closed in recent years, including showrooms in Burlingame, Fresno and Antioch.
