Skip to Content

Japan


Toyota Prius sales backlogged until May 2010 in Japan

Toyota's successful launch of the 2010 Prius hybrid doesn't appear to be losing any momentum in Japan. According to the Japanese Automobile Dealers Association, the automaker moved a total of 31,758 Prius hybrids last month, making September the fifth straight month that the fuel-sipper was the best-selling car in its home market of Japan. What's more, Toyota reports that there is a backlog of Prius orders that numbers well into the thousands. In fact, order a brand new Prius in Japan today and you're not likely to get your new car until ... Read more →

Japanese oil, gas companies will tackle hydrogen fueling infrastructure Jeremy Korzeniewski

- A consortium of 13 Japanese oil and gas companies are joining forces in an effort to commercialize technologies enabling hydrogen vehicles to be conveniently refueled by 2015. Coincidentally ...

Zeus gets down with Honda's new Insight Jonathon Ramsey

Japanese tuner Zeus has done quite a job on the Honda Insight, so now you can be green and still feel like a badass. Developed as part of the company's GLMRS Line, the kit consists of front ...

REPORT: S. Korea targeting Japanese li-ion products Sebastian Blanco

The long-simmering confrontation between South Korea and Japan has affected all sorts of relationships between the two countries. While mostly peaceful over the last few decades, there remains ...

Incentives: How Japan and the U.S. create different green car markets Jeremy Korzeniewski

For the last two months in Japan, hybrid vehicles from either Honda or Toyota have actually managed to outsell all other vehicles, regardless of what's powering them. Here in the States, though, ...

Japan considering $3,000 incentives for hybrid and EV buyers 7 months ago on Autoblog Green

Just as they have in most other countries, car sales in Japan have gone in the dumpster. Now, the Japanese government is considering new incentives to at least stimulate sales of greener cars. The new program would provide cash back ranging from $1,000-3,000 depending what is purchased. Buyers of ...

Japanese convenience store chain orders 150 Mitsubishi electric cars, could install 8,000 chargers 10 months ago on Autoblog Green

Mitsubishi didn't need a survey to find out if Lawson likes the iMiEV. The Japanese convenience store chain has ordered 150 of the electric jelly beans to replace some of its commercial vehicles starting in the summer. The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that this might be the first step in Lawson's ...

Japan restructuring taxes, halts duties for eco-friendly cars 10 months ago on Autoblog Green

Japan's in just as tough a financial position as any other industrialized country in the world. With an aging population and a dwindling sum to pay out social security, the Japanese government is working on new taxing schemes to bring in extra revenue. Unfortunately, that's a tough sell in an ...

Better Place: more partnerships in Japan; electric car parking lot opens in Israel 11 months ago on Autoblog Green

A few bits of news from the Better Place electric vehicle juggernaut today. One, Israel's first electric parking lot has opened at Cinema City in Pi-Glilot. Pictured above is Better Place Israel CEO Moshe Kaplinsky with one of the Renault vehicles plugged into the station. So, how does the Better ...

Honda starts FCX leases in Japan, kids targeted 11 months ago on Autoblog Green

Deliveries of the US-spec FCX Clarity took place back in July and since then plenty of celebrities and excited hydrogen fuel cell advocates have been leasing the vehicles in Southern California. Honda has long planned to also offer the FCX Clarity in Japan, but it wasn't until today that anyone ...

Japan may get Audi Q5 hybrid around 2012 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

America got its first look at Audi's new Q5 mid-size SUV during the recent Audi Mileage Marathon. Those examples were powered by the company's 3.0L V6 diesel engine. So far there is no word from Audi on when or if Americans will ever be able to buy a Q5 TDI. For the moment the only Q5 powertrain ...

Greening the rails in Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Most people are under the impression that trains are a reasonably green sort of transportation. When used in a city to move people about, the environmental benefits seem pretty obvious. Fewer cars are needed on the roads, decreasing congestion and electric trains are more efficient and create less ...

Nissan partner with Project Better Place in Israel, competitor in Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

While Nissan/Renault has been very helpful to Project Better Place in Israel by offering to supply electric cars that will work with their recharging and battery swapping service, its cooperation with PBP may not be extending to its homeland of Japan. Not only has Nissan undertaken its own ...

EV race day at Tsukuba circuit in Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Today is Children's Day in Japan and that means it's also the day of the annual electric vehicle (EV) races at Tsukuba circuit. Sponsered by the Japan EV club with coordination from Daihatsu Motor Co. (maker of really cool little cars we can't buy in America), the event will feature 30-minute ...

Japanese Mitsubishi iMiEV videos hint at production versions 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

digg_url = 'http://digg.com/environment/Japanese_Mitsubishi_iMiEV_videos_hint_at_production_versions'; When we drove the jellybean on wheels (the Mitsubishi i MiEV) at the New York Auto Show last month, we were pretty swept away. This is one nice EV. Maybe we weren't quite as enthralled as the ...

Toyota vs. Jim Press - Did Toyota get government help for hybrids? 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Click above for a high-resolution gallery of the 2007 Toyota Prius Touring. "The Japanese government paid for 100% of the development of the battery and hybrid system that went into the Toyota Prius, " according to Jim Press. This quote was taken from an interview conducted by Business Week which ...

Project Better Place coming to Japan? 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

The Globes reports Project Better Place's CEO Shai Agassi is in Japan looking for partners to bring Project Better Place to the Asian country. Shai has nothing official to say just yet but he does tell Globes that there is a great chance of success in Japan because it's a "transportation island." ...

Wireless Hino hybrid a hit at Haneda 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

I was reading the English version of the Asahi Shimbun the other morning when this article caught my attention. There's nothing really new about hybrid buses, even GMC makes them, but how about a plug-in hybrid bus you don't have to plug in. That's something you don't see everyday. At least not yet ...

Washington Auto Show video: Jim Press talks about the difference between US and Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

At the Washington Auto Show, Jim Press (the guy who famously left Toyota for Chrysler) said the Japanese government worked closely with corporations, like Toyota, for the betterment of society. Jim said he is excited to work with Cerberus, the private owners of Chrysler, to contribute to society as ...

Light Railway Transit has made a comeback in Toyama, Japan 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Rail travel is an incredibly popular and efficient way to travel in Japan. While I don't think it would take anyone that long to warm up to rail travel in Japan, I lived there long enough to really, really appreciate the train network that includes hyperfast Shinkansen (bullet train) and putzing ...

A look at Kei cars, those tiny Japanese cars 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Kei cars are a class of small cars in Japan which have a length limit of 3.4 meters, a width limit of 1.48 meters and height limit of 2 meters. The Kei car class was created (and given tax breaks) as a way to beef up the domestic auto industry after the second world war. According to the ...

Japan to buy carbon rights in Hungary 1 year ago on Autoblog Green

Japan has decided to pay for its CO2 emissions. Since the country is unlikely to meet the Kyoto Protocol agreement for its emissions, the Japanese government is thinking of going shopping in Hungary to buy carbon emission rights. The fact is that Japan is failing behind its Kyoto commitment to cut ...

Video: Hummer sales increasing ... in Japan? 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

The island nation of Japan is known for its lack of space and popular products are often ones that are efficiently designed to accommodate for that lack of space. So why in the world are sales of Hummers in Japan increasing? Apart of the appeal, explains the Wall Street Journal video you can watch ...

Japanese company unveils semi-mobile hydrogen fuelling station 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

Iwatani International Corporation, a Japanese energy company, and Kansai Electric Power Company have developed a liquefied hydrogen storage mobile refueling station mounted on a semi-trailer, and are going to start operations in the Kansai area. The idea behind this is having a simpler method to ...

Japan: making biofuels out of used chopsticks 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

I've gotta be honest here: I knew that chopsticks were popular in Japan, but I had no idea to what extent they are consumed. Really, really, quickly. Our friendly neighborhood sister site, Gadling, sent us a tip which includes this piece of trivia: The Japanese people use 90,000 tons (81,646,000 ...

CEO discusses Honda's green future 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

Honda has big plans for the future. In addition to their already admirable goals of CO2 reductions, they called out from the rooftops earlier this month that they are going to be building next-generation clean diesel engines that will meet the Tier 2 BIN 5 NOx emissions standards here in the ...

Japanese gov't to kick $1.7B toward developing cleaner cars 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

The Japanese Trade Ministry is going to provide $1.7 billion in assistance to local carmakers over the next five years to help them develop cleaner cars. They will kick in about $42 million a year toward developing better cheaper batteries for electric cars. The target is to get the retail price of ...

Japanese government pushing GM crops for biofuel feedstocks 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

That's genetically modified not General Motors. In most other developed countries of the world outside of the United States GM crops have not exactly caught on. In fact most people want nothing to do with so-called Franken-food. However the Japanese agriculture ministry is now taking a look at the ...

Alcohol: Fill your tank of fill your tummy? 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

We know all about ethanol 'round these parts. We write about it all the time (721 posts as of this morning), sometimes good and sometimes bad. Shall we run down the list here? Okay... In the U.S. we use corn to make it, which is not even remotely the best crop choice. Ethanol has less energy ...

Can't reach your Prius rated mileage? These drivers got almost 116mpg! 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

We all know that few people ever achieve the mileage displayed on their window sticker particularly if they drive a hybrid. The Toyota Prius is rated at 55mpg but a group of Japanese drivers have managed to get more, much more, than that. A Japanese man named Takashi Toya and his friends go for the ...

Japanese scientists and corporations working to create ethanol from seaweed 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

As you can tell by clicking here, we cover ethanol a whole lot. There are so many ways to make alcohol fuels from crops that it is sometimes hard to tell which ones are better than others. One thing is for sure, though: corn is not the best choice. Now that that is out of the way, consider the ...

Japan hopes to increase ethanol production from domestic biomass sources 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

Here is a posting that hits on two very controversial subjects: global warming and ethanol as a fuel alternative. Good stuff! In an effort to reach the goal set forth under the Kyoto Protocol, Japan wishes to increase their ethanol production using domestic sourced biomass, such as wood-waste and ...

Toyota in Joint Project to Commercialise Second-Generation Biodiesel Fuel 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

A joint project to commercialise bio-hydrofined diesel (BHD), a second generation biodiesel fuel, has been announced by partners the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nippon Oil Corporation (ENEOS), Toyota Motor Corporation and Hino Motors, Ltd. The project was developed as part of the Tokyo ...

Germans to fight the Japanese on the beaches for diesel sales 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

With the advent of Ultra Low Sulphur Diesel and other emissions and particular matter reducing technologies, diesel is back in a big way in markets like the U.S. and down here in Australia. Of course the clear advantage diesel has over petrol in fuel economy is old news to the Europeans where ...

Honda CEO speech presents green initiatives 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

In his 2006 Year-End Speech, the CEO of Honda, Takeo Fukui, outlined several green initiatives that the company will undertake in 2007 including building a new resource/energy efficient automobile plant; advancing their engine technology in the areas of petrols, diesels, hybrids; flex fuel and fuel ...

Japanese dual-mode vehicles runs right off (and on) the rails 2 years ago on Autoblog Green

Japan's Hokkaido Railway Co. (JR Hokkaido) has announced a new minibus based vehicle which has the capacity to run on both road and rail. The so called dual mode vehicle (DMV), which has been in development since 2002, can switch from steel-wheeled rail mode to rubber-wheeled highway mode in 10-15 ...

Next Page →


Featured Galleries

  • 1 Liter Racing League
  • Suzuki Alto in Global Green Challenge
  • Proterra Electric Bus
  • Local Motors Rally Fighter
  • 1916 Woods Dual Power Model 44 Coupe
  • Audi Avatar
  • Global Green Challenge Tesla Roadster goes 313 miles
  • Meyers Motors NMG
  • Cozmo NEV
  • Tokyo 2009: Suzuki Swift PHEV
  • Tokyo 2009: Suzuki SX4-FCV
  • Honda mobility devices

Categories

Autoblog

Daily Finance

Download Squad

Engadget

Joystiq

Autoblog Spanish

Switched.com

FanHouse

Asylum