The largest electric scooter rental agency in Japan will heighten background checks on customers and introduce a demerit system to promote safety after regulations for the vehicles are eased in July.

Japan is fighting a forest fire that has destroyed or damaged dozens of homes and forced hundreds of residents to evacuate in a northeastern coastal city.

Both Hero MotoCorp and Honda Motorcycle and Scooter India posted declines in sales in February, underscoring the pressure on ...