1. Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy has admitted that Ukraine’s air defense capabilities have declined significantly. He has expressed hope that the United States will show a positive stance toward licensed production of PAC-3 interceptor missiles in his country. Zelenskyy made the remarks in an interview with the Financial Times on Monday. Russian forces have intensified their attacks on Ukraine with ballistic missiles and drones, ahead of the upcoming NATO summit. Russian strikes through Monday killed 19 people in the capital Kyiv.
2. The governor of Japan’s Shizuoka Prefecture says he intends to sign an agreement that will allow construction of a high-speed maglev train line. The line is seen as a next-generation transport artery in the country, but it had stalled due to environmental concerns raised by the previous governor. Central Japan Railway is laying the Linear Chuo Shinkansen line between Shinagawa in Tokyo and Nagoya in central Japan. It crosses Shizuoka, which sits between Tokyo and Nagoya. Governor Suzuki Yasutomo said he plans to sign a natural environment preservation agreement with JR Central on July 18. This would open the way for construction to start in the prefecture.
3. Toyota Motor says it will spend 3.6 billion dollars to expand production in the southern US state of Texas. It is the latest move in the Japanese automaker’s plan to invest up to 10 billion dollars in the US over five years. Toyota Motor North America will set up a new pickup truck assembly line in its San Antonio manufacturing plant. It is expected to begin operations in 2030 and create more than 2,000 jobs. Toyota currently makes the Tacoma pickup truck in Mexico but will partly transfer production to Texas. This process will take about four years.