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Japan Today
2 days ago
- Business
- Japan Today
Panasonic announces new chief as its profits barely hold up
By YURI KAGEYAMA Japanese electronics and technology company Panasonic has chosen a new chief executive at a group company after eking out a 1.2% rise in its first-quarter profit. Kenneth William Sain, a former Boeing executive, will replace Yasuyuki Higuchi as Panasonic Connect's president and chief executive in April 2026, the company said Wednesday. Panasonic Connect offers solutions and products for various supply chains, public services, infrastructure and entertainment sectors. Sain joined Panasonic in 2019 as CEO of Panasonic Avionics. 'Ken is an exceptional leader with extensive global experience and a deep understanding of business and technology,' Higuchi said in a statement. Panasonic Holdings Corp.'s April-June profit totaled 71.46 billion yen ($483 million), up from 70.6 billion yen. Its quarterly sales declined 10.6% from last year to 1.9 trillion yen ($12.8 billion). The Osaka-based maker of home appliances, solar panels and batteries for Tesla vehicles kept its full year profit forecast unchanged at 310 billion yen ($2.1 billion), down 15% from the previous year. Panasonic said the impact from U.S. President Donald Trump's tariffs was not yet fully factored in. The company said it will try to minimize the effect on its operating profit with cost cuts and other measures. Consumer electronics sales were strong in Japan, Panasonic said, while they were also healthy in China, supported by subsidies. On the positive side, it said demand for AI servers and air-conditioners was expected to grow. But concerns remain about slowing demand for electric vehicles because of U.S. tariffs and the ending of tax credits. Panasonic also said it's planning to get its new lithium-ion battery factory in Kansas fully operational later this year, after a delayed start. Panasonic said in May that it was slashing its global workforce by 10,000 people , half in Japan and half overseas, to become 'lean.' The job cuts amount to about 4% of its workforce. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
3 days ago
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Asian shares mostly slip as focus shifts to US talks with China
A person stands in front of an electronic stock board showing Japan's Nikkei index at a securities firm on Tuesday in Tokyo. By YURI KAGEYAMA Asian shares mostly declined Tuesday as some of the euphoria fizzled out over a tariff deal with Japan as proposed by President Donald Trump, which was followed by a similar deal with the European Union. Japan's benchmark Nikkei 225 slipped nearly 0.7% to 40,725.23. Australia's S&P/ASX 200 lost 0.3% to 8,670.50. South Korea's Kospi was little changed after reversing earlier losses, edging less than 0.1% higher to 3,212.59. Hong Kong's Hang Seng dropped 1.1% to 25,276.36, while the Shanghai Composite shed 0.3% to 3,586.93. Analysts said markets were watching for the latest from Trump, which are now focused on the talks with China. U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Chinese Vice Premier He Lifeng were meeting in Sweden. Bessent has said the negotiations will likely lead to an extension of current tariff levels. There was no significant new information after the first day of talks. 'Aside from addressing economic imbalances, tariffs are also now well entrenched in the geo-political arena,' Tan Boon Heng of the Asia & Oceania Treasury Department at Mizuho Bank said in a commentary. Last week, Trump announced a trade framework, placing a 15% tax on goods imported from Japan, a level far lower than the earlier 25% rate that the president had indicated. Trump also said Japan would invest $550 billion into the U.S. and open up to U.S. autos and rice. Details are still unclear, but the accord set off some momentary relief. U.S. stock indexes drifted through a quiet Monday after the United States agreed to tax cars and other products coming from the European Union at a 15% rate, lower than Trump had threatened. Many details of the trade deal are still to be worked out, and Wall Street is heading into a week full of potential flashpoints that could shake markets, including an interest rate decision Wednesday by the Federal Reserve. The widespread expectation on Wall Street is that Fed officials will wait until September to resume cutting interest rates, though a couple of Trump's appointees could dissent in the vote. The Fed has been on hold with interest rates this year since cutting them several times at the end of 2024. On Wall Street, the S&P 500 was nearly flat, edging up by less than 0.1% to 6,389.77 and setting an all-time high for a sixth straight day. The Dow Jones Industrial Average dipped 0.1% to 44,837.56, while the Nasdaq composite added 0.3% to its own record, closing at 21,178.58. Tesla rose 3% after its CEO, Elon Musk, said it had signed a deal with Samsung Electronics that could be worth more than $16.5 billion to provide computer chips for the electric-vehicle company. Samsung's stock in South Korea jumped 6.8%. Other companies in the chip and artificial-intelligence industries were strong, continuing their run from last week after Alphabet said it was increasing its spending on AI chips and other investments to $85 billion this year. Chip company Advanced Micro Devices rose 4.3%, and server-maker Super Micro Computer climbed 10.2%. But an 8.3% drop for Revvity helped to keep the market in check. The company in the life sciences and diagnostics businesses reported a stronger profit for the latest quarter than Wall Street expected, but its forecast for full year profit disappointed analysts. Companies are broadly under pressure to deliver solid growth in profits following big jumps in their stock prices the last few months. Much of the gain was due to hopes that Trump would walk back some of his stiff proposed tariffs, and critics say the U.S. stock market looks expensive unless companies will produce bigger profits. Hundreds of U.S. companies are lined up to report how much profit they made during the spring, with nearly a third of the businesses in the S&P 500 index scheduled to deliver updates. In energy trading, benchmark U.S. crude inched up 1 cent to $66.72 a barrel. Brent crude, the international standard, added 6 cents to $70.10 a barrel. In currency trading, the U.S. dollar rose to 148.56 Japanse yen from 148.54 yen. The euro cost $1.1600, up from $1.1593. AP Business Writer Stan Choe contributed. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
17-07-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Japan racks up trade deficit amid threat from Trump's tariffs
A car, center, is moved to another location of the area where export vehicles are parked at Daikoku Pier in Yokohama on April 8. By YURI KAGEYAMA Japan sank into a trade deficit of 2.2 trillion yen ($15 billion) for the first six month of this year, according to government data released Thursday, as exports were hit by President Donald Trump's tariffs. In June, Japan's exports slipped 0.5% from a year earlier after its shipments of vehicles and other products were slapped with a 25% tariff. Trump has postponed implementing that higher import duty until Aug. 1, to allow time for negotiations but so far no deal has been reached. Exports in June totaled nearly 9.2 trillion yen ($62 billion), in the second straight month of declines. Imports in June rose 0.2% to 9 trillion yen ($61 billion), the Finance Ministry said. That left a trade surplus of 153 billion yen (just over $1 billion). The trade deficit in May was 637.6 billion yen, or $4.4 billion. Japan's exports to the United States fell 11% in June, with auto exports plunging 25%. Shipments to China decreased by nearly 5%. Exports to Mexico, a major auto assembly hub for North America for Japanese automakers, fell nearly 20%. In the first half of the year, Japan's exports totaled 53.4 trillion yen ($360 billion), up 3.6%, while imports rose 1.3% to 55.6 trillion yen ($375 billion). Japan and the U.S. have been holding trade talks, with Japanese officials stressing that Japan is a key U.S. ally. Trump has focused on rice, a sector traditionally protected from foreign competition for the sake of Japan's food security. Japan imports more than 300,000 tons of rice a year from the U.S., according to various data, although some of that is used for animal feed. Japan will hold an election for the Upper House of Parliament on Sunday. Given falling public support for Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba's administration, the conservative and pro-business ruling Liberal Democratic Party could lose its majority unless it gains another coalition partner. Japan's economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.7% in the first quarter of this year compared to the previous quarter, partly due to slowing exports. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
Japan Today
01-07-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Japanese manufacturers slightly more optimistic despite Trump tariff worries
By YURI KAGEYAMA Business sentiment among large Japanese manufacturers has improved slightly, according to a survey by Japan's central bank released Tuesday, although worries persist over President Donald Trump's tariffs. The Bank of Japan's quarterly tankan survey said an index for large manufacturers rose to plus 13 from plus 12 in March, when it marked the first dip in a year. The survey is an indicator of companies foreseeing good conditions minus those feeling pessimistic. Major manufacturers include auto and electronics sectors, whose exports to the U.S. drive the Japanese economy. U.S. auto tariffs are a worry for major manufacturers like Toyota Motor Corp., but some analysts note global auto sales have held up realatively well in recent months. The U.S. has imposed 25% tariffs on auto imports. Japanese automakers have plants in Mexico, where Trump has announced a separate set of tariffs. The U.S. has also imposed 50% tariffs on steel and aluminum. Japanese officials have been talking frequently with the Trump administration, stressing that Japan is a key U.S. ally. Trump posted on his social media site Monday that Japan wasn't buying enough rice from the U.S. 'They won't take our RICE, and yet they have a massive rice shortage,' the president wrote, adding that a letter to Japan was coming. Also on Monday, National Economic Council director Kevin Hassett told reporters at the White House that Trump 'is going to finalize the frameworks we negotiated with a whole bunch of countries after the weekend.' The Bank of Japan, which has kept interest rates extremely low for years to encourage growth, is expected to continue to raise interest rates, but some analysts expect that to wait until next year. The central bank raised its benchmark rate to 0.5% from 0.1% at the start of this year and has maintained that rate. The next Bank of Japan monetary policy board meeting is at the end of this month. The tankan findings work as important data in weighing a decision. The weak yen has raised the cost of materials for Japan at a time when the U.S. dollar has been trading at around 140 yen, up considerably from about 110 yen five years ago. A weak yen is a boon for Japan's exporters by boosting the value of their earnings when converted into yen. The tankan showed sentiment for large non-manufacturers fell to plus 34 from plus 35. That was better than some forecasts, which projected a deeper decline. The Japanese government reported last week that the nation's unemployment rate in May stood at 2.5%, unchanged from the previous month. © AP
Japan Today
10-06-2025
- Automotive
- Japan Today
Truck units of Toyota and Daimler reach merger deal
By YURI KAGEYAMA The truck divisions of Japan's Toyota and Daimler of Germany have agreed to merge to form 'a new strong Japanese truck powerhouse' to work together in vehicle development, procurement and production. Details, including the scope and specifics of the collaboration, were still undecided. But Hino Motors and Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corp plan to form a listed holding company by April 2026, the companies said Tuesday. A tentative such deal was announced two years ago. Under the integration, which will be 'on an equal footing,' Daimler Truck and Toyota Motor Corp. will each own 25% of the holding company. The Tokyo-based holding company will own 100% of Mitsubishi Fuso and Hino, and list on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. The chief executive will be Karl Deppen, now CEO of Mitsubishi Fuso, a division of Daimler Truck AG. 'Today is a great day for all our stakeholders. We are shaping the industry by bundling our strengths,' Deppen said. 'With a strong new company, we combine our two trusted brands, our resources, competencies and expertise to even better support our customers in their transportation needs in the future.' The new company, which still needs approval from boards, shareholders and regulatory authorities, will employ more than 40,000 workers. The companies share the common desire to work on future commercial vehicles, strengthening the auto industry in Japan and Asia, and work on ecological innovation, including the use of hydrogen energy, the companies said. Toyota Chief Executive Koji Sato expressed hopes the companies working together will contribute toward building a better future. 'Today's final agreement is not the goal but the starting line. Our four companies, aiming to achieve a sustainable mobility society, will continue to create the future of commercial vehicles together,' he said. Collaboration and the pooling of resources, including money, are becoming widespread in the auto industry, as pressures grow to develop various technology in ecology, autonomous driving, connectivity and safety. And scale can help reduce costs and boost competitiveness. © Copyright 2025 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed without permission.
