Japan's chief cabinet secretary says the government will do its utmost to recover the country's tourism industry hit hard by the impact of the coronavirus pandemic.

Suga Yoshihide expressed a goal of attracting 60 million foreign tourists in 2030.

Honda has issued a recall of 1.4 million vehicles globally due to a defective fuel pump.

Nissan is again recalling the last-generation Altima to replace a secondary hood latch that can fail due to corrosion. The campaign includes 1,831,818 cars made between the 2013 and the 2018 model years.

2013 to 2018 represents the fifth-generation Altima's entire career in the United States. The recall campaign affects two- and four-door models, so it covers a vast majority of the production run. Nissan explained the problem is that rust can develop on the secondary hood latch (the one up front you never seem to be able to find when you're opening the hood) and freeze it in the open position. Closing the hood could then bend it.

Toyota has just hit a major milestone, announcing that it has sold in excess of 15 million hybrids around the world.

Toyota has made hybrid technology a key component of its business plan and company personality since it first launched the Prius back in 1997. The Prius was the first mass-produced gas-electric hybrid vehicle on the road, and it has been at the forefront of hybrid culture ever since. Nearly a quarter-century later, Toyota continues to be one of the leaders in the green space, a fact backed up by a recently reached milestone. Toyota, including Lexus, has now sold more than 15 million hybrids worldwide.

Although hybrids initially earned a reputation as quirky vehicles lacking, er, enthusiasm, the word is no longer a harsh restrictor. Today, Toyota has a fairly big lineup of vehicles with varying levels of hybridization and diverse purposes. In total, Toyota of America offers eight different hybrids, including the fuel cell Mirai. The bunch includes a small sedan, a large sedan, a premium large sedan, a two-row crossover, a three-row crossover, and two flavors of Prius hatchback. Plus, Tundra and Tacoma hybrid pickup trucks are also expected in the not-so-distant future.

The widely popular Toyota RAV4 has reached a massive milestone with the carmaker revealing that by the end of February, more than 10 million had been sold.

Japanese telecom giant SoftBank Group says it will supply 300 million face masks per month for Japan in a bid to ease the shortage.

SoftBank Group says under a deal with Chinese firm BYD, it will supply 200 million regular surgical masks and 100 million advanced masks called N95 respirator per month starting from May.

TOKYO/BEIJING — Nissan Motor Co's management has become convinced the struggling automaker needs to be much smaller, and a restructuring plan due out next month would likely assume a cut of 1 million cars to its annual sales target, senior company sources said.

Even before the spread of the coronavirus, Nissan's sales and profits had been slumping and it was burning through cash, forcing it to row back on an aggressive expansion plan pursued by ousted leader Carlos Ghosn. The pandemic has only piled on urgency and pressure to renewed efforts to downsize.

The Toyota RAV4 is quickly cementing itself as one of the bestselling car models in the world. At the end of February, the compact crossover's total sales since the introduction of the first generation in 1994 crossed over the 10 million mark. Specifically, Toyota had sold 10,080,834 examples. And since the crossover is still on sale, that number will continue to increase.

In comparison to some of the most famous top-selling cars, it's closing rapidly on the Ford Model T, which sold over 15 million examples, and is about halfway to matching the original VW Beetle's over 20 million sales. It still has a ways to go to catch the Corolla, which as of 2016, had sold over 44 million units over the model's multi-generational history.

The Japanese government has compiled its first set of emergency measures against the new coronavirus outbreak.

Reserve funds will be partially used to cover the expenses.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga told reporters on Wednesday that supplies of face masks will likely top 100 million per week.

Japan faces an acute shortage of face masks following the outbreak of the new coronavirus in China.

TOKYO — Nissan filed a civil suit Wednesday seeking 10 billion yen ($91 million) in damages from the Japanese automaker's former Chairman Carlos Ghosn.

Nissan filed the case in Yokohama District Court to recoup some of the monetary damages suffered, it said, "as a result of years of misconduct and fraudulent activity" by Ghosn.

WASHINGTON — Honda said on Tuesday it will recall 2.7 million older U.S. vehicles in North America for potentially defective air bag inflators. The defect involves a different type of Takata inflator than those that have prompted the largest-ever auto safety recalls worldwide covering more than 42 million U.S. vehicles by 19 automakers with Takata air bag inflators. The new recall covers Honda and Acura automobiles from the 1996 through 2003 model years. Honda said it is aware of one field rupture of an inflator in the new recall campaign — a 2012 crash in Texas that resulted in an injury — and two in junkyards in Japan. The campaign covers 2.4 million U.S. vehicles and 300,000 in Canada, Honda said, adding that it has not determined recall numbers for other countries. Takata issued a new defect notice in November for inflators from four automakers, including Honda. Honda said all three vehicles "potentially were exposed to unusually high amounts of moisture prior to the rupture events." Honda said the recalls cover driver front airbag inflators manufactured with non-azide propellant and said "all inspections and repairs will begin in approximately one year, as replacement parts from alternative suppliers are not yet available." Honda said it "regrets any inconvenience or distress that this situation may cause to our customers as we seek to resolve this situation. Honda believes that the risk of improper airbag deployment in its vehicles remains very low at this time, but we cannot absolutely guarantee the performance of any recalled part."

WASHINGTON — Toyota said on Tuesday it will recall 3.4 million vehicles worldwide because of an electronic defect that can result in air bags not deploying in crashes. The recall, which includes 2.9 million U.S. vehicles, covers 2011-2019 Corolla, 2011-2013 Matrix, 2012-2018 Avalon and 2013-2018 Avalon Hybrid vehicles and is tied to a report of one fatal crash. The vehicles may have an electronic control unit that does not have adequate protection against electrical noise that can occur in crashes, which could lead to incomplete or non-deployment of the air bags. It could also impede the operation of seat-belt pretensioners. In April, the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) expanded a probe into 12.3 million potentially defective air bags covering a number of automakers, including the vehicles Toyota is recalling. NHTSA said in April it had identified two frontal crash events, including one fatal crash "involving Toyota products where (electrical overstress) is suspected as the likely cause" of air bags not deploying. Both involved newer Corolla cars. NHTSA said the air bags under investigation were installed in more than 12 million vehicles from 2010 through 2019 sold by Toyota, Fiat Chrysler, Honda, Hyundai, Kia and Mitsubishi. They were equipped with an air bag control unit initially produced by TRW Automotive Holdings Corp, which is now owned by ZF Friedrichshafen. In total, NHTSA said as many as eight deaths could be tied to the issue. Hyundai, Kia and Fiat Chrysler previously issued recalls for more than 2.5 million vehicles with the TRW air bag control units in question that might not deploy in crashes. When it recalled nearly 2 million vehicles for air bag non-deployments in 2016, Fiat Chrysler said it had reports of three deaths and five injuries that might be related to the defect. Hyundai and Kia ultimately recalled more than 1 million vehicles for air bag non-deployment concerns in 2018. Hyundai and Kia in 2018 said they had reports of four deaths and six injuries in North America tied to the issue. Toyota dealers will install a noise filter between the air bag control module and its wire harness if needed. Toyota declined to say how many deaths or injuries have been tied to the defect. Toyota will notify vehicle owners of the recall by mid-March.