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Time of India
6 days ago
- Automotive
- Time of India
India's CAFE norms penalise small cars: Study
Kolkata: A study by the Indian arm of Nomura Research Institute, the largest economic research and consulting firm in Japan, has said that India's policy on fuel efficiency norms for new cars penalises small ones with disproportionately stringent CO2 targets. India's Corporate Average Fuel Efficiency (CAFE) norm's linear weight-based approach is also different from the graded regulations in other major car manufacturing countries, where smaller lightweight cars have relaxed emission norms. "Globally, all major automotive markets including the US, China, Japan, Korea, and Europe offer regulatory protection to small cars under their CAFE frameworks due to their environmental and socio-economic value," the Nomura researchers said. You Can Also Check: Kolkata AQI | Weather in Kolkata | Bank Holidays in Kolkata | Public Holidays in Kolkata Maruti Suzuki has the biggest portfolio of small cars, with 10 models including Alto, Celerio, Wagon R, Swift, Dzire, Eeco and Fronx that weigh less than 1,000 kg and make up 65% of the domestic volumes for the company. Other automakers that have cars under 1 tonne are Renault (Kwid and Kiger), Tata Motors (Punch, Tiago and Altroz), Toyota (Glanza), Hyundai (Exter and i10 Nios), Citroen (C3) and Nissan (Magnite). CAFE norms are set to get more stringent in 2027 and could push compliance costs of small cars beyond affordable levels. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like American Investor Warren Buffett Recommends: 5 Books For Turning Your Life Around Blinkist: Warren Buffett's Reading List Undo Since the introduction of CAFE norms, prices of small cars have shot up due to the need for automakers to invest in technologies that improve fuel efficiency and reduce emissions. Sales of small cars (priced up to Rs 5 lakh) have fallen by 35% per year (compounded annual rate) between 2016-17 and 2024-25.
Japan Today
09-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Today
Trump's 25% tariff to reduce Japan's GDP by 0.8% in 2025: think tank
U.S. President Donald Trump's 25 percent "reciprocal" tariff on imports from Japan, if imposed, is projected to reduce the Asian nation's gross domestic product by 0.8 percent in 2025, according to a private-sector estimate. Over the longer term through 2029, the newly set levy that takes effect on Aug. 1 is estimated to cut Japan's GDP by 1.9 percent, the Daiwa Institute of Research said. Together with other tariffs already imposed by Trump, including the 27.5 percent duty on automobiles, the U.S. trade policy could dent Japan's economy by 1.3 percent in 2025 and 3.7 percent in 2029, the think tank said. Koki Akimoto, an economist at the think tank, said the country-specific tariff, if implemented, will likely have a broad impact on the Japanese economy, ranging from lower production levels for exports and reduced capital investment. Under the so-called reciprocal tariffs, Trump's administration has imposed a baseline duty of 10 percent covering imports from almost all countries in the world, aside from sector-based levies. On Monday, Trump set a new rate of 25 percent for Japan, slightly higher than 24 percent initially announced, while leaving the door open for further negotiations. Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute, projected, in total, Trump's tariffs could reduce Japan's GDP by 0.85 percent in around a year. "If they are applied, the Japanese economy is likely to gradually fall into a recession by next year with a probability of (that occurring at) more than 50 percent," he said. © KYODO
The Mainichi
09-07-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Trump's 25% tariff to reduce Japan's GDP by 0.8% in 2025: think tank
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. President Donald Trump's 25 percent "reciprocal" tariff on imports from Japan, if imposed, is projected to reduce the Asian nation's gross domestic product by 0.8 percent in 2025, according to a private-sector estimate. Over the longer term through 2029, the newly set levy that takes effect on Aug. 1 is estimated to cut Japan's GDP by 1.9 percent, the Daiwa Institute of Research said. Together with other tariffs already imposed by Trump, including the 27.5 percent duty on automobiles, the U.S. trade policy could dent Japan's economy by 1.3 percent in 2025 and 3.7 percent in 2029, the think tank said. Koki Akimoto, an economist at the think tank, said the country-specific tariff, if implemented, will likely have a broad impact on the Japanese economy, ranging from lower production levels for exports and reduced capital investment. Under the so-called reciprocal tariffs, Trump's administration has imposed a baseline duty of 10 percent covering imports from almost all countries in the world, aside from sector-based levies. On Monday, Trump set a new rate of 25 percent for Japan, slightly higher than 24 percent initially announced, while leaving the door open for further negotiations. Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute, projected, in total, Trump's tariffs could reduce Japan's GDP by 0.85 percent in around a year. "If they are applied, the Japanese economy is likely to gradually fall into a recession by next year with a probability of (that occurring at) more than 50 percent," he said.
Japan Times
07-07-2025
- Business
- Japan Times
Real wages fall for fifth straight month in May
Salary growth lagged inflation for a fifth straight month in May, with real wages falling the most in almost two years, according to government data released on Monday. Inflation-adjusted pay declined 2.9% year on year in May, with the inflation figure used for the calculation that month set at 4%. It was the biggest drop since September 2023. Overall nominal wages, including those for part-time workers, rose for a 41st straight month in May to an average of ¥300,141 ($2,069). But the pace of the growth has slowed in recent months. It was 2.3% in March, 2% in April and 1% in May. A major factor in the slowing of growth in May was an 18.7% drop in special pay, which includes bonuses. Base salaries, which show the underlying wage trend, rose 2.1% to ¥268,177 — the 43rd straight month of increases. Even though this year's spring wage negotiations ― known as shuntō ― achieved an agreement to increase wages more than 5%, a 34-year high, Japanese households are still being squeezed. Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at Nomura Research Institute, wrote in a report Monday that there is still a large gap between the inflation rate and the growth of base salaries. 'It's becoming uncertain that the real wage growth will turn positive by the end of the year,' Kiuchi wrote. Rising food prices have squeezed Japanese households, leading to political parties coming up with measures to counter inflation to woo voters ahead of an Upper House election later this month. | Nico Phillips Japan's inflation is running at about 3% this year, far above the Bank of Japan's 2% target. Consumer inflation was 3.5% in May, with the price of rice more than doubling year on year. High inflation, especially the rising price of food, is a primary focus in the July 20 Upper House election. Political parties are eager to woo voters with inflation countermeasures, such as cutting consumption tax rates and distributing cash handouts. According to a poll by NHK last month, "rising prices" was the second most important issue for voters, following "social security and declining birth rate." The administration of Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba has been desperately trying to bring down rice prices before the election. Farm minister Shinjiro Koizumi has been working on the issue and managed to achieve some success over the past few weeks. In addition to persistent inflation, U.S. tariffs are posing a risk to wage growth. The tariffs will likely lead to a slowing U.S. economy and pessimism at Japanese corporations, which will affect next year's spring wage negotiations, said Daiju Aoki, regional chief investment officer at UBS SuMi Trust Wealth Management in Tokyo. Japan and the United States are struggling to find common ground in their trade negotiations despite months of dialogue. Japan's priority is to eliminate a new 25% tariff on vehicles. Given that wage growth in the auto industry, a major driver of the Japanese economy, sets the tone for other industries, pay increases next year might decelerate if the tariffs significantly weaken Japanese automakers.
Japan Times
04-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Japan Times
A prophesied disaster (likely) won't strike Japan this weekend
Life as we know it will probably not come to an end in Japan this weekend. But what if it does? That's the question consuming a disaster-prone country ahead of a widely spread prediction of disaster that one comic book suggests will occur this Saturday. "Watashi ga Mita Mirai" ("The Future I Saw"), a manga by Ryo Tatsuki about her purported ability to see the future in dreams, was first published in 1999. It would have faded into obscurity but for the mention of a tsunami and the cover that read "Major disaster in March 2011.' Years later, when the most powerful earthquake ever to hit the country struck that very month, triggering a devastating tsunami and the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant meltdown, some hailed the author as a prophet. In 2021, she released an updated version that included a new prediction of disaster on July 5, 2025, involving a massive eruption in the Philippine Sea that triggers a tsunami striking Japan with waves three times the height of 2011. Such a disaster would obviously be devastating on a human level. But already, the comic has had an economic impact, with some tourists from Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia shunning trips out of fear. Takahide Kiuchi, executive economist at the Nomura Research Institute, estimates that ¥560 billion ($3.9 billion) of economic damage could result if tourists continue to stay away due to this and other projections of doom. As July 5 approaches, it's becoming more talked about domestically; I've been asked about it in bars and overheard its mention in coffee shops. A series of hundreds of relatively small quakes off the southern island of Kyushu over the last two weeks has kept disaster in the headlines. The manga has sold over 1 million copies, while another book by Tatsuki is topping the charts. Get your facts straight, every day In a time of information overload and misinformation, quality journalism is more crucial than ever. Help us get the story right. For a limited time, we're offering a discounted subscription plan. Unlimited access US$30 US$18 /mo FOREVER subscribe NOW Of course, despite advances in tectonic science, earthquakes can't be predicted. The Meteorological Agency has taken to social media to caution that "any such predictions should be considered unreliable.' But that message is muddled by the fact that the agency and the government believe that harbingers of the dreaded Nankai Trough megaquake can be detected. That resulted in a chilling official announcement last year about the elevated risk of a disaster that is estimated to kill as many as 300,000 people. That episode briefly had much of the country on edge. The next day, the country's earthquake early warning alert was triggered, an automated signal that gives notice of an imminent big quake, piped straight to smartphones and trains. Sitting with colleagues in a bustling bar on Friday evening, the chill that went through the room was palpable as dozens of phones blared shrill messages of EARTHQUAKE! EARTHQUAKE! and we wondered if this was, indeed, the end. Nothing happened. The alert was a false alarm. There's something to be said for keeping people on their toes: While mercifully the Nankai quake did not hit last year, the threat remains undiminished. The government's alert prompted many (myself included) to prepare or restock disaster supplies, with Japan's rice shortage partly blamed on the spike in demand it caused. But caution quickly turns to complacency. The idea that we can predict the future is an attractive one, promising certainty in an uncertain world. That helps overcome the litany of failed prophecies, from Nostradamus's warnings in 1999 to the Maya doomsday theories in 2012. Some that do turn out to be true — think the 1988 Japanese animated movie "Akira's" prediction that Tokyo would host the 2020 Olympics — are just examples of survivor bias. We forget those that don't come to pass, remembering only those that do, presumably including Tatsuki's 2011 reference. But when it comes to Japan, past predictions of doom — such as a "hidden planet' Nibiru crashing into Earth, or a supermassive black hole at the galaxy's center causing havoc — aren't good comparisons. A catastrophe not dissimilar to the one Tatsuki describes really could take place at any time — July 5, or any day before or after. Indeed, according to government estimates for the Nankai Trough quake, it's more likely than not to happen in our lifetimes. Nonetheless, even in Japan many are still taken by surprise. Media focus on major disasters such as a quake hitting directly under Tokyo can lure those elsewhere into a false sense of security. Few, including the operators of the Fukushima nuclear plant, were sufficiently prepared for a quake off the coast in 2011 — despite extensive records showing past disasters. On July 5, when nothing happens, what then? My guess is most will just shrug and move on, perhaps a little embarrassed for having believed it or a little better prepared than they otherwise would have been. People might turn on Tatsuki, who has already distanced herself from the exact date. She may pop up again with another prediction — or fade back into obscurity. Regardless, the message that we should prepare for disaster is one we should listen to. In all probability, the earthquake won't happen on July 5. But it will happen sometime. That's a warning we should all heed. Gearoid Reidy is a Bloomberg Opinion columnist covering Japan and the Koreas.
