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TOKYO Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp <7203.T>, Nissan Motor Co <7201.T> and Honda Motor Co <7267.T> plan to slash production in China by roughly half, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Monday, as a territorial row between Asia’s two largest economies cuts sales of Japanese cars in the world’s biggest auto market. Sales have plunged at Japanese car makers since violent protests and calls for boycotts of Japanese products broke out across China in mid-September over the Japanese government’s purchase of a group of disputed islands in the East China Sea from their private owner. Nissan will suspend the night shift at [...]

SYDNEY Sharp Corp’s lenders are expected to approve funding that will enable the firm to stay afloat through the current fiscal year, the Nikkei reported on Wednesday. Sharp’s lenders Mizuho Corporate Bank and the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ are expected to approve 180 billion yen ($ 2.3 billion) of loans lasting until June 2013, according to the report. The rest of the 360 billion yen in funding that Sharp needs will likely be supplied by a syndicated loan, according to the report.

HONG KONG The Japanese government will present economic forecasts for the upcoming fiscal year that show the economy shifting to an inflationary environment, reversing deflationary trends underway for 16 years, according to a Thursday report in the Nikkei newspaper. The Cabinet Office is preparing to release estimates that will show inflation-adjusted real growth of 1.7% and nominal growth of 1.9% in the fiscal year ending March 2014. The firming in inflation is being driven by an improving job market, upbeat consumer spending and higher domestic consumption related to rebuilding after last year’s tsunami and nuclear disasters. The latest figures will [...]