News

Rengo leader Tomoko Yoshino urged the LDP to pass legislation allowing separate surnames for married couples, sparking surprise and highlighting the growing pressure on the issue. This move comes as the LDP seeks to gain support from labor unions and undermine its political rivals ahead of the Upper House elections.

Nissan is testing its self-driving technology on the streets of Yokohama, aiming to catch up with competitors like Google's Waymo and address the nation's shrinking population and driver shortage. The technology, currently at Level Two with remote monitoring, plans to reach Level Four (no human involvement) by 2029 or 2030.

Chinese and Korean electric vehicles are making inroads in Japan's market, with BYD unveiling its new Sealion 7 SUV and Hyundai showcasing its Inster compact EV at the Tokyo Auto Salon. These developments signal a growing challenge to the dominance of hybrid vehicles and European imports in the Japanese automotive landscape.

Nissan has named Ivan Espinosa as its new CEO, effective April 1, 2024. Espinosa, who has been with the company since 2003, has extensive experience in product planning and development, and will take over from Makoto Uchida, who is stepping down after facing pressure due to declining earnings and the collapse of merger talks with Honda.

BYD unveiled a new EV platform with ultra-fast charging capabilities, aiming to address "charging anxiety" among drivers and further solidify its position as a major player in the global EV market. The platform boasts charging speeds twice as fast as Tesla's superchargers, enabling cars to travel 400 km on a 5-minute charge.