Japan’s Car Slump Signals Return of Factory Hollowing Out
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Japan’s lowest auto sales in three years are reviving concerns that manufacturing will hollow out in Asia’s second-largest economy.
Such rhetoric was tossed around regularly as recently as 2012 by car executives as the stronger yen forced production to shift out of Japan. While favorable currency rates since then paused such talk -- Toyota Motor Corp. is headed for a second straight year of record profit -- the country’s first sales-tax increase in 17 years has led to a slump in consumption and carmakers have resumed scaling back output in the country.