Mitsubishi Motors’ new Minicab EV, a kei-car-class electric commercial vehicle with a monobox design, will go on sale nationwide in Japan on 21 December. The Minicab EV two-seater is priced at ¥2,431,000 (US$16,300), and the four-seater is priced at ¥2,486,000 (US$16,640) (10% consumption tax included). The new Minicab EV is... Read more →

Japan Airlines has separately signed basic agreements with three hydrogen-electric aircraft/engine manufacturers—H2FLY GmbH, Universal Hydrogen Co., and ZeroAvia Inc.—to study the safety, economic feasibility and maintainability etc., for hydrogen fuel cell-powered next generation aircraft. JAL Engineering Co., Ltd. (JALEC), which is in charge of aircraft maintenance for the JAL Group,... Read more →

Last year, Toyota unveiled the all-new Crown with four model types: sedan, sport, wagon and crossover. (Earlier post.) The first model out of the lineup was the crossover type. Now, Toyota has unveiled its all-new Crown Sedan model in Japan and will begin accepting orders. The launch is planned for... Read more →

Cruise, General Motors and Honda have entered into a Memorandum of Understanding aiming to establish a joint venture which will begin a driverless ridehail service in Japan in early 2026. The three companies aim to establish this new company in the first half of 2024 pending regulatory approvals. With this... Read more →

Daimler Truck AG and its Japanese subsidiary Mitsubishi Fuso Bus and Truck Corporation announced the handover of the first FUSO Next Generation eCanter (earlier post) to Yamoto Transport Co, Ltd.. The all-electric truck is the first of around 900 Next Generation eCanters Yamoto Transport ordered from FUSO—the largest single order... Read more →

The Nikkei reports that Japan and the UK are set to make joint investments in critical minerals in Africa and other places. The two countries will also establish a framework for discussing economic security at the ministerial level, with a focus on supply chains. The two countries reportedly aim to... Read more →

The Nikkei reports that Japan plans to more than double the output of electric vehicle chargers used at highway service areas. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) will require operators to increase the output to at least 90 kW—more than twice the current average—by 2030. For high traffic... Read more →

Hitachi Astemo announced that Isuzu Motors has adopted its sensing system in its new ELF light-duty truck model. Using a wide-angle stereo camera, the sensing system enables collision damage mitigation braking at intersections and on single-track roads. With its enhanced safety equipment, the new ELF is the first light-duty truck... Read more →

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) has been selected as the core company in charge of the conceptual design of an demonstration fast reactor which the Japanese Government aims to place into operation in the 2040s. MHI will oversee both the conceptual design as well as research and development (R&D) for... Read more →

Toyota Motor Corporation has started offering an upgrade service in Japan that allows customers to evolve their cars swiftly in line with technological innovation as part of the company’s efforts to enhance car value. The service is available for the Prius U Grade. Toyota has been offering retrofitting of new... Read more →

Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings, Inc. (TEPCO HD) and Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota) have developed a stationary storage battery system (1 MW output, 3 MWh capacity) that combines TEPCO’s operating technology and safety standards for stationary storage batteries and Toyota’s system technology for electrified vehicle storage batteries. This system will... Read more →

China-based EV startup U Power Limited entered into a framework strategic cooperation agreement with Quantum Solutions Co., Ltd., the first and only independent Japanese electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, to develop business initiatives relating to marketing, research and development of new energy vehicles, financial technologies,... Read more →

Daimler Truck Holding AG, Mitsubishi Fuso Truck and Bus Corporation (MFTBC), Hino Motors Ltd. (Hino) and Toyota Motor Corporation concluded a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on accelerating the development of advanced technologies and merging MFTBC and Hino. Daimler Truck, MFTBC, Hino, and Toyota will collaborate toward achieving carbon neutrality by... Read more →

Neste and ITOCHU have agreed to extend their collaboration with a licensing agreement allowing ITOCHU to become an official distributor of Neste MY Renewable Diesel in Japan. Based on this agreement, the availability of Neste MY Renewable Diesel will be expanded in the market, for example, to the area around... Read more →

Panasonic Holdings Corporation and Marubeni Corporation will establish a joint venture for the purpose of providing fleet management services for commercial electric vehicles. Panasonic HD and Marubeni aim to provide integrated support for the introduction and operations of EVs to large fleet operators. While the adoption of EVs is gaining... Read more →

Suzuki Motor, Daihatsu Motor, and Toyota Motor will unveil prototype mini-commercial van electric vehicles (BEVs) equipped with a jointly developed BEV system. The unveiling will take place at an exhibition event that introduces the automobile industry’s efforts to achieve carbon neutrality (CN), from 18-21 May. The three companies jointly developed... Read more →

Isuzu Motors and Honda Motor signed a partnership agreement to have Honda develop and supply the fuel cell system for the fuel cell-powered heavy-duty truck Isuzu is planning to introduce to market in 2027. Joint Isuzu-Honda R&D efforts produced a fuel cell-powered heavy-duty truck that has been granted a Japanese... Read more →

Yamaha Motor, Honda Motor, Kawasaki Motors and Suzuki Motor received approval from Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) to form a technological research association called HySE (Hydrogen Small mobility & Engine technology) for developing hydrogen-powered engines for small mobility. Small mobility vehicles include motorcycles, Japan-originated mini-vehicles, small marine... Read more →

Idemitsu Kosan, one of Japan’s leading producers and suppliers of energy, has launched a feasibility study of clean hydrogen production in Japan generated from waste, including municipal waste. The goal is to launch a first hydrogen production facility around 2030 capable of processing 200-300 tons of waste per day. The... Read more →

Japan has published a new biofuels policy that will allow the United States to capture up to 100% of Japan’s on-road ethanol market, according to the Office of the United States Trade Representative. According to the new biofuels policy under the Sophisticated Methods of Energy Supply Structure Act, exports of... Read more →

United States Trade Representative Katherine Tai and Japan’s Ambassador to the United States, Tomita Koji, signed a critical minerals agreement. The agreement builds on the 2019 US-Japan Trade Agreement and will strengthen and diversify critical minerals supply chains and promote the adoption of electric vehicle battery technologies. In particular, the... Read more →

Universal Hydrogen (earlier post) has formed a collaboration with three Japan-based companies to study—and ultimately to develop—a green hydrogen supply and logistics solution that will enable Japanese airlines to scale their utilization of hydrogen-powered aircraft in the very near-term. Collectively, Universal Hydrogen alongside Sojitz Corporation, Mitsubishi HC Capital Inc., and... Read more →

Australia-based Lynas Rare Earths Limited has signed new agreements with Japan Australia Rare Earths B.V. (JARE). The new agreements will further strengthen the Lynas balance sheet and support funding of capital projects designed to meet accelerating global demand for rare earth materials. JARE was co-founded in 2011 by Sojitz Corporation... Read more →

Fukuoka Prefecture, Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT), and Kyushu Railway Company (JR Kyushu) will conduct trials of a small fuel cell electric bus (FC bus) that runs on hydrogen on the BRT Hikoboshi Line , a bus rapid transit (BRT) system planned for launch around the summer of 2023.... Read more →

JFE Steel Corporation, which is expanding the electrical steel sheet capacity of its West Japan Works (Kurashiki Area) for startup targeted at the first half of the fiscal year starting in April 2024, is now planning an additional expansion targeted at a startup in the fiscal year beginning April 2026.... Read more →

Nippon Paper Industries, Sumitomo and Green Earth Institute agreed to begin trilateral consideration of the first commercial production of cellulosic bioethanol from woody biomass in Japan and its development into bio-chemical products. Bioethanol is currently attracting attention as a renewable energy source and as feedstock for biofuels such as SAF... Read more →

The Nikkei reports that in 2024, Japan will begin to extract rare earth materials for electric vehicles and hybrids from sea bottom mud in an area off Minami-Torishima Island, a coral atoll in the Pacific Ocean about 1,900 kilometers southeast of Tokyo. The government’s aim is to reduce the country’s... Read more →

Fukuoka Prefecture and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) have entered a partnership agreement that includes jointly implementing initiatives to expand the adoption of fuel cell electric vehicles (FC mobility) for vehicles in the logistics industry, public transportation, and official government use. The aim is to advance the development of... Read more →

In Japan, JERA concluded memorandums of understanding (MoUs) with Nippon Yusen Kabushiki Kaisha (NYK) and Mitsui O.S.K. Lines (MOL) related to cooperation in transporting fuel ammonia for the Hekinan Thermal Power Plant, expected to begin commercial operation in the late 2020s. JERA is a 50-50 joint venture between TEPCO Fuel... Read more →

China-based Contemporary Amperex Technology Co., Limited (CATL) and Daihatsu Motor, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Toyota, announced an MOU of Strategic Cooperation on battery supply and battery technologies to promote e-mobility in Japan. Under the agreement, CATL intends to provide stable supply of EV batteries to the electric vehicles of Daihatsu,... Read more →

Toyota Motor will join seven other leading Japanese companies—Sony Group, NEC, Toyota supplier Denso, NTT, chipmaker Kioxia Holdings, SoftBank and Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Grou—in working with the Japanese government in a new next-generation semiconductor venture named Rapidus. The companies are investing a combined ¥7.3 billion (US$52.2 billion) and the government... Read more →

GS Yuasa will shift its focus from hybrids to enter the market for electric-vehicle batteries as early as next year, according to a report from the Nikkei. The battery maker recently formed a department for the project, bringing in engineers from its hybrid and plug-in hybrid operations, according to the... Read more →

JERA, the largest power generation company in Japan, responsible for about 30% of Japan’s electricity, and Toyota Motor have built and deployed the first large-capacity “Sweep Energy Storage System”. The system was built using batteries reclaimed from electrified vehicles (HEV, PHEV, BEV, FCEV) and is connected to the consumer electrical... Read more →

Chevron New Energies, and Mitsui Oil Exploration (MOECO) signed a Joint Collaboration Agreement to explore the technical and commercial feasibility of advanced geothermal power generation in Japan. Building on Chevron and MOECO’s long-standing relationship, the new collaboration will study geothermal resource potential across Japan and will evaluate the effectiveness of... Read more →

Woodside Energy; Japan Oil, Gas and Metals National Corporation (JOGMEC); Marubeni Corporation; Hokuriku Electric Power Company; The Kansai Electric Power Co.; Tohoku Electric Power Co.; and Hokkaido Electric Power Co. signed a joint research agreement under which they will jointly conduct a feasibility study (Phase 2) on the establishment of... Read more →

Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) is expelling Hino Motors, Ltd. (Hino) in light of Hino’s misconduct concerning certification testing. An on-site inspection conducted by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism found that Hino committed additional wrongdoings related to applications for engine emissions certification, in addition to the... Read more →

FREYR Battery, a developer of clean, next-generation battery cell production capacity, has established a technology resources campus and business unit in Japan. The new business unit is the company’s first physical location in Asia and will focus on efforts to facilitate and scale-up FREYR’s testing and development of the 24M... Read more →

Yamato Transport and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) will begin studying the standardization and commercialization of replaceable and rechargeable cartridge batteries. The introduction of commercial battery electric vehicles (BEVs) poses several challenges, including recharging times that are longer than refueling times for conventional gasoline and diesel vehicles, as well... Read more →

NTT Anode Energy Corporation announced a joint research and development project to study safety measures for the mass transportation of hydrogen through existing pipeline infrastructure. The study, being performed in collaboration with the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology and Toyota Tsusho is expected to contribute to the... Read more →

BYD Japan, the Japanese branch of China-based BYD, marked its official entry into the passenger vehicle market in Japan with the Japanese debut of three BYD models: BYD ATTO 3, BYD Dolphin, and BYD Seal. BYD ATTO 3 is slated to become the first BYD passenger vehicle sold in Japan,... Read more →

ENEOS Corporation, Suzuki Motor Corporation, Subaru Corporation, Daihatsu Motor Co. Ltd., Toyota Motor Corporation , and Toyota Tsusho Corporation established the Research Association of Biomass Innovation for Next Generation Automobile Fuels (Research Association) to study ways to optimize the process of producing fuel. It is crucial to provide diverse energy... Read more →

Isuzu Motors, Toyota Motor, Hino Motors, and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) will jointly plan and develop light-duty fuel cell (FC) electric trucks for the mass-market. The companies will also promote the introduction of FC electric trucks to the market along with their widespread use. On the road to... Read more →

Suzuki Motor, Daihatsu Motor, Toyota Motor, and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) have agreed to work towards the market introduction of mini-commercial van electric vehicles (BEVs) in FY2023. Mini-commercial vehicles cover areas accessible only to them because of their small size and are important in supporting last-mile logistics. They... Read more →

Isuzu Motors Limited, DENSO Corporation, Toyota Motor Corporation, Hino Motors, Ltd., and Commercial Japan Partnership Technologies Corporation (CJPT) have started planning and foundational research on hydrogen engines for heavy-duty commercial vehicles with the aim of further utilizing internal combustion engines as one option to achieve carbon neutrality. On the road... Read more →

Nikkei partnered with Tokyo research company Patent Result to analyze solid-state battery patent applications submitted to the World Intellectual Property Organization and another group. The study looked at applications turned in between 2000 through the end of March from 10 countries and territories. The study found that Toyota Motor is... Read more →

Toyota Motor is introducing the O-Uchi Kyuden System, a home storage battery system based on its electrified vehicle battery technology. Pre-orders for the system have started, and sales in Japan will begin in August through home builders and general construction companies. The O-Uchi Kyuden System uses electrified vehicle battery technology... Read more →

Kobe Steel will launch “Kobenable Steel” and become Japan’s first provider of low-CO2 blast furnace steel products with significantly reduced CO2 emissions during the blast furnace ironmaking process. The company plans to start selling the new products this fiscal year. Kobenable Steel is based on the KOBELCO Group’s CO2 Reduction... Read more →

The Japan Atomic Energy Agency (JAEA), a national research and development agency, and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI), have been contracted by Japan’s Agency for Natural Resources and Energy, part of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), to conduct a Hydrogen Production Demonstration Project Utilizing Very High Temperature,... Read more →

DENSO Corporation and United Semiconductor Japan Co., Ltd. (USJC), a subsidiary of global semiconductor foundry United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC), have agreed to collaborate on the production of power semiconductors at USJC’s 300mm fab in order to serve the growing demand in the automotive market. An insulated gate bipolar transistor (IGBT)... Read more →

Porsche Japan and Audi Japan are forming a Premium Charging Alliance business partnership to expand the 150kW rapid charging station network across Japan. Rapid charging stations run by both companies will be available to both Porsche and Audi owners starting 1 July 2022. The Premium Charging Alliance is a project... Read more →