Japanese Revival Seen in Honda’s First Plant in 49 Years
This article is for subscribers only.
In July, Honda Motor Co. is planning to do something it hasn’t done for almost 50 years: open a car factory in Japan.
In 1964, just as the country was preparing to host the Olympic Games, Honda inaugurated a plant in Sayama, near Tokyo. That factory, along with two older ones, met surging Japanese domestic demand as the country prospered. And since the early 1990s, when asset prices collapsed, ushering in Japan’s “lost decade,” there has been little need for expansion.