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Apr 10, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Hitachi will start allowing foreign employees in Japan to work from their home countries for a month or two each year, Nikkei has learned, in a push to better attract and retain talent from overseas. The option could be launched as early as October for roughly 500 foreigners at group flagship Hitachi Ltd., where they account for nearly 2% of employees.
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Jan 26, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Ryo Mukano |Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- In a sign of how Japan's Renesas has advanced from a loss-making chipmaker to a high-earning link in global supply chains, investors Hitachi and NEC are poised to exit. The Japanese technology groups this week announced plans to sell their stakes in Renesas, which was built from operations they spun off more than a decade ago.
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Jan 17, 2024 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Hitachi will raise the personnel ratings and compensation of employees who demonstrate respect for diversity among colleagues, such as gender and nationality, Nikkei has learned. The industrial powerhouse will launch the effort, which is unusual for a Japanese company, next April to promote a workplace where people with various values can work comfortably. The hope is that this will help Hitachi find and retain high-quality employees.
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Dec 29, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Tsuyoshi Tamehiro |Keiichi Furukawa |Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Nikon, Sony Group and Canon are developing camera technology that embeds digital signatures in images so that they can be distinguished from increasingly sophisticated fakes. Nikon will offer mirrorless cameras with authentication technology for photojournalists and other professionals. The tamper-resistant digital signatures will include such information as date, time, location and photographer.
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Dec 7, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Toshiba and Rohm will work together to manufacturer power semiconductors, it was learned Thursday, in a bid to strengthen their position in high-demand components for electric vehicles. Japan's industry and trade ministry will subsidize up to 120 billion yen ($830 million) of the 380 billion yen the two companies are planning to spend on the project. Rohm and Toshiba will both handle production at their respective factories being built in Ishikawa and Miyazaki prefectures.
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Nov 22, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi |Aya Onishi |Yuta Fukushima
TOKYO -- Toshiba will delist on Dec. 20 after shareholders on Wednesday approved steps for the troubled industrial group to go private and seek a revival under a consortium led by buyout fund Japan Industrial Partners. The acquisition, which will end Toshiba's 74 years as a listed company, sees the departure of activist investors that had clashed with the Japanese blue chip's management over strategy.
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Oct 27, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi |Nami Matsuura |Ryo Mukano
TOKYO -- After over two years of talks, the proposed merger between Western Digital's semiconductor business and Japan's Kioxia Holdings have fallen apart in the final stages over a failure to bring a key stakeholder on board. Western Digital notified Kioxia of its decision to step away from the negotiating table late this month, shocking Kioxia executives.
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Oct 19, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Electric has signed an agreement with the Australian Defence Department for joint equipment development, the company announced Thursday, the first time a Japanese company has entered a defense contract with a foreign government. Subsidiary Mitsubishi Electric Australia and the Australian military will combine laser technologies to enhance surveillance capabilities for fighter jets and vehicles. The development timeline and cost estimates were not disclosed.
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Oct 10, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Mitsubishi Electric and auto parts supplier Denso will together acquire 25% of U.S. materials maker Coherent's silicon carbide (SiC) business for $1 billion under an agreement announced Tuesday, aiming to secure a stable supply of the semiconductor material. The Japanese companies will each invest $500 million for a 12.5% stake in the business, which Coherent will carve out and operate as a subsidiary.
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Sep 24, 2023 | 
asia.nikkei.com | Yoichiro Hiroi
TOKYO -- Hitachi has developed a metaverse-based system that lets skilled workers run remote demonstrations using real-world factory equipment, with an eye toward industries where know-how is concentrated among aging veterans. This reporter experienced it firsthand with demonstration equipment. Through a virtual reality headset, an image of an instructor's hands was superimposed on a drum-shaped machine.
