Lexus Announces An Electric Concept With Direct4 Technology

Lexus announces an electric concept with Direct4 technology

Identifying a new or a late-model Lexus is child's play: Look for the giant spindle-shaped grille. It's a styling cue that defines all of its recent models, and designing an electric car is evidently not an excuse to get rid of it. Lexus published a dark teaser image that previews an electric concept that will usher in its next design language.

Like parent company Toyota, Lexus has long resisted the shift towards electric cars by fervently arguing hybrids make more sense. But, as even its home country mulls a blanket ban on internal combustion technology, it's left with no choice but to go electric. It already sells a battery-powered variant of the UX in Europe, but the concept it previewed on its social channels was designed as an electric car from the get-go.

Kawasaki Announces Gasoline-electric Hybrid Motorcycle

Kawasaki announces gasoline-electric hybrid motorcycle

Kawasaki hinted its future range of motorcycles will include a hybrid model. It's busily developing one of the industry's first gasoline-electric two-wheelers, and it released a video to explain how the technology works.

Pay no attention to the sci-fi three-wheeler leaning into a turn at the beginning of the film; the hybrid bike won't look anything like it, for better or worse. We haven't seen its full design yet, but the firm explained it's being developed to switch among gasoline, electric and hybrid power. It relies on an armada of sensors to identify the type of road it's traveling on and adjust its powertrain accordingly. For example, the software charges the battery pack while the bike is traveling on the highway, shuts off the gasoline engine when it rides through a city core, and leverages both power sources on a twisty road. Hybrid cars have been doing this for years.

Honda Announces All-new N-one Kei Car, Adds Manual-transmission Option

Honda announces all-new N-One kei car, adds manual-transmission option

The Japan-only N-One kei car has been a favorite among Honda enthusiasts since its debut in 2012. Mostly, that was due to its lovable styling — which was inspired by the 1967 N360 and the N600, its U.S. market variant — even though its was only available with a 3-cylinder mated to a CVT. Now, after eight years, Honda has announced an all-new N-One and given it a 6-speed manual transmission option.

It's a supremely rare move in the automotive world these days. Manual transmissions are hanging on by a thread, and automakers are taking them away these days rather than adding them to a new generation that didn't offer one before. Honda says it did so as a direct response to customer demands. So hey, maybe internet comments do make a difference!

Suga Announces Candidacy For Ldp President

Suga announces candidacy for LDP president

Japan's Chief Cabinet Secretary Suga Yoshihide has announced his candidacy for president of the main governing Liberal Democratic Party.

The party is set to choose a successor to its outgoing president, Prime Minister Abe Shinzo, on September 14.

Abe Formally Announces His Resignation

Abe formally announces his resignation

Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has formally announced his intention to resign due to a relapse of an inflammatory bowel disease.

At a news conference on Friday, Abe said that a regular checkup in June showed signs of a recurrence of ulcerative colitis, and that he began feeling physically worn down as his condition worsened around mid-July. He said doctors confirmed a relapse in early August.

Pm Abe Formally Announces Intention To Resign

PM Abe formally announces intention to resign

Japan's Prime Minister Abe Shinzo has formally announced his intention to resign due to a relapse of an inflammatory bowel disease.

At a news conference on Friday, Abe said that a regular checkup in June showed signs of a recurrence of ulcerative colitis, and that he began feeling physically worn down as his condition worsened around mid-July. He said doctors confirmed a relapse in early August.

Us Forces Announces Virus Tests For Arrivals

US forces announces virus tests for arrivals

The commander of US forces in Japan has directed incoming personnel to take a coronavirus test before leaving a mandatory 14-day period of restricted movement upon arrival in the country.

The commander made the announcement on Friday, when it was confirmed that there have been 189 infections across US military facilities in Japan to date.

Toyota Announces Recall Of Over 700,000 Prius Vehicles Over Software Flaw

Toyota Announces Recall Of Over 700,000 Prius Vehicles Over Software Flaw

Unfortunately, the inclusion of technology means that there are more issues to deal with, so much so that Toyota has announced that they have begun to recall over 700,000 Prius and Prius V vehicles around the world due to a software flaw. This includes 267,000 vehicles in the US alone.

According to Toyota, “The involved vehicles were designed to enter a failsafe driving mode in response to certain hybrid system faults. Toyota has found that in rare situations, the vehicle may not enter a failsafe driving mode as intended. If this occurs, the vehicle could lose power and stall.  While power steering and braking would remain operational, a vehicle stall while driving at higher speeds could increase the risk of a crash.”

Toyota Announces Plans To Introduce A Hot Hatch In America

Toyota announces plans to introduce a hot hatch in America

Toyota alchemized the newest Yaris into a street-legal, 268-horsepower pocket rocket in order to homologate it in the World Rally Championship (WRC). It's not going to sell the model here, partly because our Yaris is completely different from the one sold abroad, but it hinted there's a second, America-bound hot hatch in the pipeline.

"While the GR Yaris isn't coming to the United States, perhaps it's time the United States got a Toyota hot hatch to call its own. One that continues to push the boundaries of performance. And one that can only come from Toyota Gazoo Racing," the company wrote on a page of its American website dedicated to the rally-bred Yaris. It also posted the same message — and a photo of the GR Yaris going sideways — on its official Twitter account.

Kyoto Announces State Of Emergency Request

Kyoto announces state of emergency request

Kyoto Prefecture and Kyoto City in western Japan have decided to ask the central government to put the prefecture under a state of emergency for the coronavirus pandemic.

Kyoto Governor Nishiwaki Takatoshi and Kyoto City Mayor Kadokawa Daisaku made the announcement at a news conference on Friday morning.

Kikuchi Ami Announces Pregnancy

Kikuchi Ami announces pregnancy

On March 4, talent Kikuchi Ami (29) announced via Instagram that she is pregnant with her first child.

Kikuchi wrote, "At this time, I would like to announce that I have been blessed with a baby. I have already entered my stable period and am due this summer. It is my husband and I's daily routine to talk to the baby everyday."