The Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida came to North Carolina April 11-12 to discuss jobs, business investment and the country’s relationship with the Southeast United States. Kishida landed in the Tar Heel State on Thursday, April 11 after attending a White House State Dinner with the Bidens and many other star-studded guests. On Friday, Kishida traveled around the state with Gov. Roy Cooper to talk jobs and business investments, according to a press release. To solidify the leaders' relationship, Cooper proclaimed April 12 as North Carolina and Japan Friendship Day....

The driver of a Ford electric SUV involved in a February fatal crash in Texas was using the company’s partially automated driving system before the wreck, federal investigators said Thursday. Data from the 2022 Mustang Mach E SUV showed that Ford’s “Blue Cruise” driver-assist system was in use ahead of the Feb. 24 crash, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the National Transportation Safety Board. The crash is one of two recent fatal wrecks involving Ford Mustang Mach Es that are under investigation by the NTSB and the...

Rapidus Corporation announced on Thursday that it had formed a new U.S. subsidiary, dubbed Rapidus Design Solutions (RDS), and opened an office in Santa Clara, California to better serve partners and potential future customers in the Americas. RDS will be led by Henri Richard, who will serve as general manager and president. Rapidus Corporation has been making a lot of news as of late. For those unfamiliar with Rapidus, it is a fledgling Japanese semiconductor company developing bleeding-edge semiconductor manufacturing and adjacent technologies.

A JT's Auto Group employee died following a shooting Monday at the group's Kia dealership in Columbia, S.C. Police found Graham Pope, 39, shot multiple times sitting in a vehicle at JT's Kia of Columbia. He was transported to a hospital, where he later died, Columbia Police Chief William Holbrook said at a Tuesday news conference. Pope worked as a digital marketing specialist for the auto group, according to his obituary. A dealership employee said a store manager would not comment. A motive for the shooting was unknown, and the...

Toyota announced this week that it was upping its investment in a battery manufacturing facility in North Carolina by $8 billion, bringing its total investment to $13.9 billion. It also said it expects to employ some 5,000 workers at the site, about 3,000 more than previously announced. Here are answers to some common questions about the factory: Where exactly is the Toyota plant? The Toyota battery plant is under construction on 1,800 acres along U.S. 421 about 20 miles southeast of Greensboro, near the Randolph County town of Liberty, population...