Skip to content
Tokyo Brief東 京 ブ リ ー フJapan's day, wrapped and delivered by morning.

Japan Corporate Strategy

Medium-term plans, capital spending, new plants, products and drug approvals from Japanese companies.

  1. Yokowo adds about ¥7.0bn to chip-test capacity plan, lifting total to ¥15.1bn

    Yokowo's board approved about ¥7.0bn of extra investment in probes and test sockets, taking its capacity plan to about ¥15.1bn, with a second Vietnam building due in February 2028 and the first brought forward to October 2027.

  2. Rohm aims to bring SiC breakeven forward a year as server sales jump

    Rohm's interim briefing moves its silicon carbide breakeven target forward by a year, while first-half server sales rose about 66% and full-year operating profit guidance stands at ¥50bn.

  3. Hitachi Energy lifts 2030 margin ambition to 19–21% as backlog passes $65bn

    Hitachi Energy's investor-day decks put first-half sales at $11.0bn and backlog above $65bn, and lift the 2030 adjusted EBITA margin ambition to 19–21%, backed by a $9bn capacity programme and a data-centre order push.

  4. Ibiden commits about ¥151bn to AI-server substrate capacity, with output starting in fiscal 2029

    Ibiden's board approved about ¥151bn of planned spending, centred on its Ogaki site in Gifu, to expand IC package substrates for CPUs, with sequential start-up and mass production planned from fiscal 2029.

  5. Liberaware wins Tokyo backing of up to ¥200mn for overseas push

    Liberaware has been selected for Tokyo's second-round SusHi Tech Global growth programme, which offers up to ¥200mn and up to 18 months of support, while the drone maker says the effect on its results is still under review.

  6. PowerX ships first Mega Power 2500 units, with 444 of 477 ordered due in 2027

    PowerX began shipping its 10-foot Mega Power 2500 battery system on 26 October; 444 of 477 firm orders are scheduled for 2027, and the company expects only a minor effect on this year's forecast.

  7. PowerX says 99.2% production progress is inventory-based, not a shipment rate

    PowerX says production is on plan and its 99.2% progress figure counts built inventory, not shipments or revenue, while it describes the Hokkaido plant's move to July 2028 as a capital-efficiency decision rather than a production problem.

  8. Koito moves to close Hubei lamp subsidiary, the second of its three China units to go

    Koito Manufacturing has resolved to dissolve and liquidate its wholly owned Hubei car-lighting maker, citing the EV shift, local Chinese rivals and weaker sales at its Japanese carmaker customers, while calling the earnings hit minor.

  9. Ricoh gives outside directors a strategy review covering portfolio and capital allocation

    Ricoh's eight outside officers will review profit structure, business portfolio and capital allocation through the second half of the fiscal year, reporting to a board that says it has decided no specific measures.

  10. Taiyo Yuden and TDK sign basic agreement to study joint MLCC and inductor development

    Taiyo Yuden and TDK signed a basic agreement to study joint development of MLCCs and inductors for AI hardware, with manufacturing, procurement, a possible METI application and any capital tie-up still to be discussed.

  11. OKI Sets a ¥10bn Charge as 668 Staff Apply for Early Retirement

    Oki Electric Industry expects about ¥10bn in special retirement payments after 668 group employees applied for its second-career scheme, booked in the second quarter with the full-year consolidated forecast left unchanged.

  12. Yamaichi Electronics to Build ¥6.5bn Fourth Factory in the Philippines

    Yamaichi Electronics will spend about ¥6.5bn on a fourth Philippine factory, at roughly 30,000 square meters bigger than its existing three plants combined, to assemble semiconductor test sockets and connectors for AI-server, automotive and industrial demand it expects to grow, though the plant will not open until the second half of the fiscal year ending March 2029.

  13. Terra Drone Says Its First Defense Revenue Lands This Autumn

    Terra Drone told investors it landed two Ministry of Defense tenders far faster than the usual three-to-four-year entry timeline and expects its first defense revenue in September or October, while betting that a mandatory domestic-parts rule for flight controllers, batteries, motors and chargers would strengthen its position against foreign suppliers.

  14. Terra Drone Alone Clears Japan's First Interceptor-Drone Mass-Production Trial

    Terra Drone was the only company among 38 applicants to pass Japan's first interceptor-drone demonstration and sign a mass-production contract with the country's defense procurement agency, a milestone disclosed alongside a widened first-half operating loss of ¥819mn and a new Tokyo-based subsidiary built to run the defense business.

  15. Kioxia and SanDisk Set ¥5tn Japan Investment Target Through 2032, With a Government Catch

    Kioxia and SanDisk say they will invest roughly ¥5tn, more than $31bn, in Japanese flash-memory production by 2032 at two existing plants, but the plan is explicitly conditional on support from the Japanese government that has not yet been detailed.

  16. Terra Drone Is the Only Company to Clear Japan's Interceptor-Drone Trial

    Terra Drone was the only company to pass Japan's interceptor-drone demonstration test, its Terra B1 model chosen from four finalists narrowed out of 38 initial bidders, and the defense agency is targeting a mass-production contract by late August, while Terra Drone says the earnings impact is still under review.

  17. SAXA's Early-Retirement Offer Draws 138 Takers, 18 More Than Planned

    138 employees at SAXA and its service subsidiary accepted the electronics maker's early-retirement offer, overshooting a 120-person target, and the company has already booked a ¥1.269bn charge for the extra severance and outplacement costs, with the overflow bill still being worked out.

  18. OXIDE Commits ¥1.455bn to Expand Faraday Rotator Output for AI Data Centers

    OXIDE will spend ¥1.455bn on new Yamanashi production equipment for Faraday rotators, the isolator components that stop reflected light from disrupting data-center laser transceivers, though the company says the earnings effect stays minor before the equipment even starts up in the year's second half.

  19. Foster Electric Scraps Its Mid-Term Plan After an Activist Investor Lands a Board Seat

    A shareholder holding about 25% of the voting rights in Foster Electric now has its CEO on the board, and the speaker maker is tearing up its 2025-2027 plan for a replacement due around November.

  20. OKI Opens an Uncapped Early-Retirement Offer to Staff 55 and Older

    Oki Electric Industry set no cap on how many employees aged 55 and older can take an enhanced retirement payout by October 31, 2026, only on their age and tenure, as it shifts headcount toward AI and digital-transformation work.

  21. PowerX and Highreso to Study Battery-Backed Power for AI Data Centers

    PowerX and GPU-hosting operator Highreso have signed a memorandum to study battery storage, power trading and joint site development for AI data centers, an early-stage response to grid capacity strain rather than a signed project.

  22. Terra Drone Wins a Spot in Japan's Fast-Track Interceptor Drone Trials

    Beating 37 other bidders four months after entering the defense business, Terra Drone's interceptor system now has weeks of trials to prove it can stop Shahed-type suicide drones before Japan's defense agency locks in a mass-production order.

  23. JDI to Wind Down Hong Kong Sales Unit After Revenue Falls 88% in Two Years

    Japan Display's board has voted to dissolve JDI Hong Kong Limited after the unit's revenue collapsed from $636.6mn to $79.2mn in two years; operations stop September 30, 2026, as part of a wider overseas sales reshuffle.

  24. Tamagawa's Fukuoka Battery Plant Links to the Grid Ahead of Schedule

    A small Tokyo-listed renewables holding company connected its ¥684mn, 8 MWh battery station in Fukuoka to Kyushu Electric's grid on July 1, ahead of schedule, and is now angling for a spot in Japan's balancing market once the August handover closes.