1. Another strong cold spell is likely to hit wide areas of Japan on Friday. Forecasters also report that heavy snow is expected, mainly along the Sea of Japan coast. Many areas have seen an unusually high buildup of snow for this time of the year. As of 11 a.m., Niigata Prefecture’s Uonuma City reported more than 3 meters’ worth. Heavy snow is expected in the flat areas of the Kinki and Tokai regions, where it usually does not snow much. 2. Nissan Motor and Honda Motor plan to make a final decision on their potential management integration next week. Their talks are expected to be terminated after Nissan rejected Honda’s proposal to make it a wholly owned subsidiary. The Japanese automakers have been in talks since December about a merger under a joint parent company. But Honda recently changed its strategy and proposed acquiring Nissan’s shares to make it a subsidiary, an offer Nissan has rebuffed. Honda has indicated that it is difficult to continue negotiations unless Nissan accepts. 3. Media reports say US President Donald Trump met US Steel CEO David Burritt at the White House on Thursday. They are likely to have discussed a Japanese steelmaker’s planned takeover of the US firm. Observers say Burritt may have explained Nippon Steel’s plan to buy US Steel and asked for the president’s cooperation to help the deal go through. In January, former President Joe Biden issued an order to block the Japanese steelmaker’s buyout, citing national security’s concerns.