Electronics

A majority of Toshiba shareholders voted for an independent probe of alleged voting irregularities in the reappointment of CEO Nobuaki Kurumatani. (Source photos by Tokuyuki Matsubuchi and AP)
Business trends

Toshiba activist investor Effissimo wins battle over management

Shareholder vote launches investigation into management conduct

18 March 2021
Panasonic has sold over 200 billion non-rechargeable batteries to date. (Photo Kento Hirashima)
Business deals

Panasonic ditches European disposable battery units in pivot to EVs

As alkaline cells lose favor, production plants to be sold to German fund Aurelius

18 March 2021
Toshiba will hold an extraordinary shareholders meeting on March 18 to vote on proposals by two activist investors that call for major changes in the way the industrial giant is run. (Photo by Yoshiyuki Tamai)
Business trends

Toshiba faces shareholder grilling over governance

Industrial giant butts heads with activist foreign investors

18 March 2021
China's O-Film said a major customer -- believed to be Apple -- has ended their supply chain relationship.
China tech

China's O-Film apparently cut off from Apple supply chain

US sanctions seen dealing $2bn blow to camera and touch module supplier

17 March 2021
The committee stressed the Sharp's subsidiary Kantatsu had "repeated inexcusable and fraudulent accounting practices without any careful consideration."  (Photo by Tomoki Mera)
Companies

Sharp's governance questioned after fraud probe at subsidiary

Scandal hits Foxconn bid to produce Kantatsu smartphone camera lenses

16 March 2021
Some 802 companies including Sony and Panasonic had revised their earnings projections by the end of February, of which 604 or 75% raised their guidance. (Source photos by Reuters)
Companies

Japan Inc's earnings upgrades triple downgrades for FY2020

Sony and Panasonic lift outlook as vaccines ease cautious views on COVID impact

14 March 2021
Trainees learn how to build and operate an EUV machine at ASML's training center in Tainan, Taiwan, in August 2020.
Semiconductors

ASML to recruit 600 engineers in Taiwan

Dutch chipmaking machinery builder to boost staff 20% in key market

12 March 2021
Kyocera will shutter a Chinese factory that makes LCDs for cars.
Electronics

Kyocera to shutter Chinese automotive LCD plant

Japanese company sees dim future for old type of display

12 March 2021
Renesas thoroughly reworked its business continuity plan in the aftermath of the Great East Japan Earthquake that struck off the coast of Fukushima Prefecture in 2011.
Semiconductors

Fukushima quake shows chipmaker Renesas value of resilience

The company continuously hones disaster planning for supply-chain resilience

11 March 2021
A mobile phone shop in New Delhi: An Indian factory that makes older iPhone models will begin producing the new iPhone 12.
Technology

Foxconn set to make iPhone 12 in India, shifting from China

Tamil Nadu plant expected to take as much as 10% of Chinese production

11 March 2021
Increment P, a subsidiary of Japanese electronics group Pioneer, gathers geospatial information in Japan and Southeast Asia and has provided data to Google Maps since 2019.
Business deals

Pioneer unloads Google Maps data supplier to Japan-based fund

Electronics maker to build out car navigation analytics with $270m deal

10 March 2021
Blue Yonder is a major U.S. supply-chain management provider with 3,300 clients worldwide, including Wal-Mart. (Source photos by Reuters and screenshot from Blue Yonder's website)
Electronics

Panasonic set to buy US supply chain software company for $6.5bn

Japanese maker aims to combine Blue Yonder's AI tech with its own hardware

8 March 2021
Lightning strikes in Las Vegas. Ultracapacitors' fast charging and discharging holds promise in a wide range of uses.
Technology

Lightning-fast battery alternative draws Marubeni in Asian supply deal

Ultracapacitors spark tie-up between Japan trading house and Estonian startup

5 March 2021
Hisense Group is positioning its purchase of a 75% stake in Japan's Sanden Holdings for $200 million as a strategic move into the automotive sector. (Source photo by AP) 
Automobiles

Investors cheer second Japanese takeover by China's Hisense

Major car-parts maker Sanden gives boost to mainland company's auto ambitions

2 March 2021
Avalon SteriTech's robots are used on Hong Kong's mass transit railway, as well as in office buildings, luxury hotels and shopping malls.
Technology

SoftBank injects Hong Kong robotics business into joint venture

Partners to launch global sales of autonomous disinfecting and cleaning machine

1 March 2021
People cooped at home playing computer games have driven up demand for semiconductors. 
Electronics

China hoards used chipmaking machines to resist US pressure

Machines 'worthless several years ago' sell for $1 million

28 February 2021
A CETC booth at an expo in China: The state-owned company logged revenue of $35.3 billion in 2019. (Photo courtesy of China Electronic Technology Group Corp.)
Business deals

China to create 'IT aircraft carrier' through tech megamerger

State-owned military suppliers CETC and Potevio prepare for US sanctions

26 February 2021
iPhones at the Apple Marina Bay Sands store in Singapore. As smartphones become increasingly ubiquitous, producers are looking to differentiate themselves with better cameras.
Electronics

LG Innotek invests $500m to boost iPhone parts output

Camera module supplier to expand South Korea factory with eye on Apple orders

20 February 2021
The time-of-flight sensor gauges how long reflected light takes to come back. (Image courtesy of Sony)
Technology

Sony's self-driving sensor sees 300 meters down the road

Eagle-eyed device tracks objects to within 15 cm even in low light

19 February 2021
The new NAND memory can write data more than twice as fast as Kioxia's current top-of-the line product.
Semiconductors

Kioxia develops 170-layer NAND, joining elite chipmaking club

Former Toshiba Memory to produce smaller, faster memory chip with eye on 5G

19 February 2021
It now appears that U.S. restrictions preventing Huawei from obtaining key smartphone components will not be eased by President Joe Biden.
Huawei crackdown

Huawei to more than halve smartphone output in 2021

China's largest handset maker suffers from US sanctions Biden appears to back

18 February 2021
Nikobo has no legs or wheels, but can nod up and down as well as speak. (Photo courtesy of Panasonic)
Electronics

Panasonic's cuddly robot helps chase away pandemic blues

Nicobo smart companion sold out in one day on crowdfunding platform

17 February 2021
The LG Display's facilities will be the largest foreign-invested project in Hai Phong. 
Electronics

LG Display to expand OLED production in Vietnam with $750m

Company's total investment reaches $3.25bn as country draws tech firms

12 February 2021
The BlackBerry Key2 launched in 2018: the handsets' unique design won them many fans during their heyday.
Electronics

Foxconn and US startup work on BlackBerry's return to Asia

OnwardMobility CEO says revamped 5G model will hit region 'as soon as possible'

11 February 2021
In recent years, Renesas has been more focused on chip design than on production. (Photo by Tokuyuki Matsubuchi)
Semiconductors

Chip supplies will remain tight in first half, Renesas CEO says

Japanese manufacturer makes profit in 2020 on strong PC and data center demand

10 February 2021