Naomi Tajitsu

TOKYO (Reuters) - At a factory south of Japan’s Toyota City, robots have started sharing the work of quality-control inspectors, as the pandemic accelerates a shift from Toyota’s vaunted “go and see” system which helped revolutionise mass production in the 20th century.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co is planning a 30% year-on-year cut in global vehicle production through December as falling demand due to the COVID-19 pandemic complicates its turnaround efforts, two sources with knowledge of the matter told Reuters.

TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co on Wednesday unveiled the Ariya - an electric SUV and its first all-new global model in five years - hoping it will symbolize its road to recovery after more than a year of scandal and a precipitous decline into earnings losses. But initial sales plans for the Ariya are modest, people with knowledge of the matter told Reuters, an indication that the vehicle will do little to lift Nissan’s bottom line.

TOKYO (Reuters) - When Japanese firm Iris Ohyama agreed in April to begin producing much-needed face masks in Japan, it marked a win for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe who wants to bring manufacturing back from China. Spooked by coronavirus-induced factory shutdowns in China, Abe’s government has earmarked $2 billion to help companies shift production home. The policy, part of a massive stimulus package to cope with the pandemic, has even been termed by some bureaucrats as a matter of national security.

TOKYO/BEIJING (Reuters) - Nissan Motor Co Ltd'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.

TOYOTA CITY (Reuters) - The head of Toyota Motor Corp’s electric vehicle (EV) business told Reuters the automaker has received enquiries from more than 50 companies since announcing last week that it would offer free access to patents for EV motors and power control units.

TOKYO (Reuters) - Replacing potentially lethal Takata Corp air bags in a mass recall is more challenging and time-consuming than expected as rival parts suppliers struggle to make bag inflators that replicate the originals fitted by the Japanese firm.

SHANGHAI/WELLINGTON (Reuters) - Milk powder buyers in China are starting to cut their reliance on New Zealand's Fonterra, opening the way for U.S. and European firms to break the dairy giant's grip on an infant milk formula market set to double to $25 billion by 2017.

WELLINGTON/SHANGHAI (Reuters) - However much China and other big customers strive to rely less on Fonterra after a global food contamination scare this month - now downscaled to a ‘false alarm’ - the New Zealand firm’s grip on the global dairy trade is unlikely to be loosened.