Japan's Defense Minister Takeshi Iwaya says there's no need to dispatch Self-Defense Force personnel in response to the tanker attacks in the Gulf of Oman.
One of two tankers attacked last week near the Strait of Hormuz is operated by a Japanese shipping firm.
Nissan has declared that it sees no major downside to the possibility of Renault and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles partnering in a merger of equals.
TOKYO – Nissan on Wednesday told Renault it wasn't opposed to its partner's potential $35 billion merger with Fiat Chrysler, the Nikkei newspaper said, as the two met to hash out the future of their alliance amid a deal that could upend the auto industry. The leaders of Nissan Motor Co, France's Renault SA and junior partner Mitsubishi Motors Corp gathered at Nissan's headquarters in Yokohama for a scheduled alliance meeting - one overshadowed by Fiat Chrysler's proposal this week for a merger-of-equals with Renault. The plan, which would create the world's third-largest automaker, raises difficult questions about how Nissan would fit into a radically changed alliance. Renault Chairman Jean-Dominique Senard arrived in Japan on Tuesday to discuss the proposed tie-up with Nissan, 43.4% owned by the French automaker. "We are not opposed," the Nikkei quoted an unnamed Nissan source who had attended the meeting as saying. The person also said "many details need to be worked out" before the Japanese automaker solidifies its position on the issue, the Nikkei reported. In a statement, the alliance members confirmed that they had "an open and transparent discussion" on the proposal. The deal looks designed to tackle the costs of far-reaching technological and regulatory changes, including the drive toward electric vehicles. Nissan, which has rebuffed overtures by Renault for a merger of their own despite their 20-year alliance, was blindsided by the discussions, sources have told Reuters, stoking concerns that a deal with Fiat Chrysler could weaken Nissan's relations with Renault. The tie-up also poses an additional challenge for Nissan CEO Hiroto Saikawa, already grappling with poor financial performance and an uneasy relationship with Renault after Nissan led the ousting last year of long-standing alliance chairman Carlos Ghosn. There have long been tensions between Nissan and Renault over the imbalance of power in their alliance. Nissan, the bigger company, holds a 15% non-voting stake in the French automaker, while Renault owns 43.4% of Nissan. Ahead of Wednesday's meeting, Japanese media quoted Saikawa as telling reporters that he would look at the potential opportunities afforded by a Renault-FCA merger. Credit ratings agency Moody's said it was vital for Nissan to stabilize its partnership with Renault to expand operational synergies and improve margins. "It is unclear if the Nissan-Renault-Mitsubishi Motors alliance can advance their cooperation without resolving the cross-shareholding issue, which has been source of contention," Moody's said in the report, which followed a cut to Nissan's credit rating last week. (Reporting by Naomi Tajitsu; Editing by David Dolan and Christopher Cushing)
Nothing else we do here at Autoblog is quite like our longterm reviews. That's why we always try to keep a few vehicles in our longterm garage at any one time. These vehicles stay with us for anywhere from 12 weeks to 12 months and become our workhorses, shuttling and moving people, pets, groceries, gardening supplies, sports equipment, furniture and just about anything else you can imagine. We get to use, drive and maintain them like an actual owner would, giving us a good look at things we may not pick up on in some of our other reviews. Few, if any, of our longtermers have been as versatile as our recently-departed 2018 Honda Ridgeline RTL-E. In fact, we were so in love with the truck that we twice asked Honda to extend the loan.
The second-gen Honda Ridgeline debuted in 2017. It's still an oddball (a unibody truck based on the Honda Pilot and Passport with features like a trunk and a tailgate that articulates in two places) in a field of traditionalists like the Toyota Tacoma, Chevy Colorado and Ford Ranger, but that's what's so compelling about it. It's not trying to be like those other trucks. For better or worse, it's an alternative take on a conservative segment. For many people, it's the truck you actually need, not the one you want, even if that means it's occasionally a bit boring. Read our thoughts below. It's not perfect and it's not cool, but know that one of us on staff enjoyed the truck so much that he's looked at purchasing one for his family.
The Nissan Rogue Sport crossover is small, attractive, and relatively cheap. Despite sharing a name with the larger Rogue, the Rogue Sport is a completely different vehicle. It's the least expensive vehicle in Nissan's portfolio with optional all-wheel drive. What it doesn't offer, despite its name, is a sporty driving experience, and it can get surprisingly pricey if a buyer isn't careful with options.
Relatives of Japanese citizens abducted by North Korea have urged the government not to soften its stance and to keep working to bring all the victims back.
The family members met reporters at Narita Airport on Sunday upon their return from New York.
Sources say Tokyo prosecutors decided not to indict two senior Nissan Motor officials in relation to alleged financial misconduct involving the Japanese carmaker's former chairman Carlos Ghosn. The two had agreed on a plea-bargain deal with prosecutors.
One of them, a former aide to Ghosn, is a foreign national, and the other is a former official in the secretarial office.
If you’ve ever wanted to take a screenshot of a message thread or a website, back in the day, the problem was that you could only screenshot what you saw. This meant that if messages go beyond the screen, you would need to take multiple screenshots. However, some handset makers introduced a feature known as scrollable screenshots.
For those unfamiliar, this meant that you could take screenshots the length of the entire conversation in a chat app if you so choose, thus saving users time from having to take multiple screenshots and send multiple files. If you were hoping that such a feature would find its way into native Android, think again.
Subaru of Indiana Automotive (SIA), the only Subaru plant outside Japan, just celebrated building its 4 millionth Subaru. On Monday, April 22, at 10:51 p.m. Eastern Daylight Time, a silver 2019 Outback rolled off the line to mark the milestone. The facility was the product of a joint venture between Subaru and Isuzu, producing about 67,000 cars per year. Devoted solely to Subarus since 2016, yearly output by the more than 5,700 factory associates hovers around 370,000 cars.
Those with a head for arcane minutiae might recall that in 2013 Subaru announced having produced the 4 millionth vehicle at the plant. An Outback also celebrated that milestone, that time a 2014 model in Dark Indigo Blue. Subaru answered our question about the previous highlight by explaining, "in the past, the plant produced Isuzu vehicles (and at one point, even the Honda Passport and Toyota Camry)." The 2013 vehicle tally counted everything rolling out the doors. This week's marker counts just the Subarus.
There have been a few reports recently about Nintendo being close to launching a new model of its popular Switch console. The reports have specifically talked about a smaller and cheaper version of the gaming console. Even if it has plans to do that later this year, Nintendo has confirmed that it won’t unveil any new Switch hardware at the coming E3 2019 gaming convention.
Bloomberg reports that Nintendo has denied plans to launch a new Nintendo Switch console at E3 2019 this June. “As a general rule, we’re always working on new hardware and we will announce it when we are able to sell it,” said Nintendo CEO Shuntaro Kurukawa. His comments came during the company’s earnings call earlier today.
Mazda executives say the new 2.0-liter Skyactiv-X powerplant will still take some time to arrive to the North American market. The Skyactiv-X is a high-compression gasoline engine, and its 16:1 compression ratio is comparable to that of a diesel engine.
"We have a lot of technology. And we are introducing each technology in each region when the time is right," said Mazda North America CEO Masahiro Moro at the SAE International WCX Conference, according to Automotive News. Moro stated that while the Skyactiv-X can indeed pass EPA emissions regulations, it's not in the immediate pipeline for U.S-bound Mazdas; the slightly less hardcore Skyactiv-G will be amended first.
Although they might get a bad rep for not being "cool," minivans can be some of the most unique and interesting vehicles on the market. Their spacious size and clever packaging allows for design and functionality that cannot be found in any other type of family hauler. Lexus proves as such with the debut of its flagship luxury MPV, the LM, a wild-style van that can be ordered as a sort of personal private limousine with a 26-inch screen. Sadly, it's only for China and other Asian markets.
Based on the Toyota Alphard, the LM caters to a Chinese market that places major importance on luxury and comfort for the on-the-go business professional. That means privacy and space, so in addition to a seven-seater configuration, the LM can be ordered in a four-seat chauffeur setup. It includes two gigantic reclining captain chairs (separated by an armrest with built-in touch control panel), a partition with power glass and a built-in 26-inch screen, a 14-liter fridge, umbrella storage, and a 19-speaker sound system. To ensure optimal tranquility, the van has double-layer noise-reducing glass.
A new generation of Honda’s Fit subcompact (or Jazz, as it is known in Europe) is on its way and the web got pretty excited about it when the first spy photos surfaced in September 2018.
Foreign Minister Taro Kono says Japan will not follow the United States in labeling Iran's elite military force a terrorist group.
US President Donald Trump issued a statement on Monday designating Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps as a terrorist organization.