Nashville-based Gibson Guitar Corp. is buying TEAC Corp. of Japan for about $52 million, according to a news release, continuing the company's push into the audio equipment industry. (bizjournals.com)

The April Fool is dead. Or at least the gentle jester of the common folk has been converted into a corporate colossus controlled by global marketing executives. (Reuters)

Sales in Japan of 660 cc passenger mini-cars jumped to a record high in the last financial year, signalling structural change in a market where family size is shrinking and buyers are shifting to smaller cars. (Economic Times)

Trust banks are launching financial services Monday that will allow elderly people to give up to 15 million yen per grandchild in tax-free cash gifts to finance their education. (Yomiuri)

An estimated 840,000 new recruits nationwide marked their first day of work Monday at the start of Japan's new fiscal year, after surviving a difficult job-hunting season amid severe economic conditions. (Kyodo)

Narita Airport is to be allowed an extension on the landing and take-off times of its evening flights, beginning Sunday. Narita city has granted the Narita Airport operator an extension to fly until midnight under certain circumstances, breaking its long-standing 11 p.m. closing time. (Japan Today)

NEC Corp. is in talks with Chinese personal computer maker Lenovo Group Ltd. to sell its mobile phone subsidiary as part of its turnaround efforts, company sources said Friday. (Kyodo)

Ginza property tycoon Genshiro Kawamoto, 81, who was arrested for tax evasion earlier this month, was granted bail Thursday after he paid 500 million yen in cash. (Japan Today)

Panasonic Corp. said Thursday it aims to achieve a group operating profit of over 350 billion yen in fiscal 2015 by further accelerating streamlining of its loss-making businesses including the television business. (Kyodo)

Japanese carmakers showcased their sports utility vehicles and luxury cars at the annual New York International Auto Show, which opened on Wednesday. (Kyodo)

Japan's Mitsubishi Motors says a short circuit in the batteries of its plug-in hybrid car may have been caused by foreign objects introduced during production. (NHK)

A Japanese company is hoping to win a big slice of Asia's tuk-tuk market, it said Wednesday, betting battery-operated buggies could cut burgeoning city pollution. (inquirer.net)