Honda celebrated the start of mass production of the all-new 2013 Acura ILX today. The first ILX, built exclusively in Indiana, rolled off the assembly line at 10:30 a.m. EST and was greeted by Honda associates, community partners and elected officials, who gathered to mark its launch.
Toyota Motor Corporation (TMC) announces that Toyota Motor Manufacturing Russia (TMMR), its vehicle production subsidiary in Russia, will start two-shift operations in September of this year. Approximately 600 new personnel have been hired in preparation, and TMMR forecasts that the number of plant employees will have reached approximately 1,750 when two-shift operations begin. Concerning the announcement, TMMR President Yoshinori Matsunaga said: "Starting two-shift operations is a significant event for our plant.
Kyocera (headquarters: Kyoto; president: Tetsuo Kuba; herein “Kyocera”), IHI (headquarters: Tokyo; president: Tamotsu Saito; herein “IHI”) and Mizuho Corporate Bank (head office: Tokyo; president & CEO: Yasuhiro Sato; herein “Mizuho CB”) today announced that the three companies have reached a basic agreement to construct a 70-megawatt (MW) solar power plant in southern Japan and to further explore a business model for utility-scale solar power generation. The “mega-solar plant” is being built to help solve Japan’s power supply issues caused by the effects of the Great East Japan Earthquake, and to make a contribution to environmental protection, including the reduction of CO2 emissions.
Japan Nuclear Fuel Ltd. will resume possibly next week the construction of a plant to produce mixed oxide nuclear fuel known as MOX in northeastern Rokkasho village, Aomori Prefecture, Japan Nuclear Fuel President Yoshihiko Kawai said Friday.
The decision came after the company began to test a spent nuclear fuel reprocessing plant in January, while the government's Japan Atomic Energy Commission was considering nuclear policy reforms, including discussions on whether to discontinue the reprocessing following the March 2011 Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant accident.
Honda resumed production of automobiles after suspending production since October 4, 2011, due to damaged sustained from the flooding in Thailand.
Since completing the drainage of the flood water at the end of November 2011, HATC had been exerting company-wide efforts to clean, inspect, repair and replace plant facilities and manufacturing equipment, which were damaged by the flood.
Mitsubishi Motors North America will be cranking up production at its Normal, Illinois plant.
The plant will be making Outlander Sport models intended for export from the U.S. to markets like Russia and Latin America.
The company's plan to start making the compact SUV at the Illinois plant is a move to boost capacity.
Townspeople in Tomioka, Fukushima Prefecture, used to take pride in a 2.5-kilometer stretch of 300 cherry trees that reached full bloom and created a ceiling of blossoms every April at Yonomori Park.
Before the massive quake last year, around 15,000 lived in the town. But now Naoto Matsumura, 52, is the only resident. He stayed on in the town where he grew up even after the whole of the town was included in the exclusion zone on April 22 as a result of the nuclear crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi power plant.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda suggested Wednesday approval may be given to operate the nearly completed No. 3 reactor of a nuclear power plant in Shimane Prefecture.
"It is possible to make a decision based on the progress of each" reactor, Noda told a parliament session, apparently referring to the No. 3 reactor at the Shimane plant of Chugoku Electric Power Co.
Honda announced today that it will invest $98 million at its Anna, Ohio engine plant as part of a strategy to build the company's next-generation powertrain technologies in Ohio. The move is aligned with a $120 million investment, announced last year, for the production of a new continuously variable transmission (CVT) in Russells Point, Ohio.