Miwa Suzuki

Ghosn made his first public appearance since his audacious December escape at a combative press conference in Beirut on Wednesday

The 30-centimetre long hound-like machine comes complete with flapping ears and its eyes can show various emotions.

Farmland in parts of Japan is no longer safe because of high levels of radiation in the soil, scientists say, following the Fukushima disaster.

Toyota's president swapped his business suit for a worker's uniform on Friday as he sought to reassure workers.

Japanese tyre maker Bridgestone Corp said on Monday it would quit Formula One next year, dealing a further blow to the sport.

The party that swept Japan's weekend elections said on Tuesday it was ready to do battle with the mighty state bureaucracy.

A wink, a smile or a raised eyebrow could soon change the music on your iPod or start up the washing machine, thanks to a new Japanese gadget.

Young Japanese people are evolving a new lifestyle for the 21st century based on the cellphones that few are now able to live without. While about one-third of Japanese primary school students aged seven to 12 years-old use cellphones, by the time they get to high school that figure has shot up to 96%.

Japan offered remorse for past atrocities on the anniversary on Wednesday of its World War II surrender as top leaders steered clear of a shrine at the heart of friction with neighbouring countries. Sixty-two years after Japan capitulated in the deadliest conflict in history, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe pledged that his country would not return to war.

A powerful typhoon slammed into southern Japan on Thursday, injuring three people, disrupting air and land traffic and cutting power to thousands of houses. Packing winds of up to 144km/h and bringing heavy rains, typhoon Usagi landed on the coast of Kyushu Island shortly before 6pm local time from the Pacific, the meteorological agency said.

Six-year-old Shino Katagiri does not start primary school until April, but her mother is already putting her into classes -- on how to defend herself against violent attackers. As an adult self-defence instructor plays the bad guy, the terrified little girl huddles into a chair and refuses to take part in the lesson her mother has brought her to.

Police on Monday raided Yamaha Motor on suspicion that the Japanese company tried to export illegally to China agricultural-use helicopters that can be converted for military purposes. While the major motorcycle maker denied any wrongdoing, police and customs mobilised 280 investigators to search 20 locations.