An off-the-cuff remark about never paying for rice has cost Japan’s agriculture minister his job, as pressure mounts on the government to solve the nation’s rice crisis.

Japan’s exports to the United States, its largest single trading partner, fell nearly 2% in April as tariff hikes imposed by President Donald Trump hit home. Globally, exports rose just 2% year-on-year,

Honda Motor said on Tuesday that it was scaling back its investment in electric vehicles given slowing demand and would be focusing on hybrids, now far more in favour, with a slew of revamped models.