Latest from Japan

Factory-grown produce finds growing market

The old Sony factory in Japan's Miyagi Prefecture is up and running again. But this time it's an indoor farm that is the largest of its kind.

Even yakuza can't stop investors hunting for yield

The Japanese consumer lender at the centre of a scandal over loans to gangsters that engulfed Mizuho Financial Group sold debt at about a fifth of the premium global companies pay, as investors search for yield.

Japan: Round boys in the ring

Sumo wrestlers come in all sizes, finds Brett Atkinson, but the man mountains are the most fascinating.

Sonar firm reels in Japanese investor to boost R&D

Furuno Electric Co, best known for its fish finder systems, has purchased a 10 per cent stake in Electronic Navigation, owned by the Hodson family.

Rush to stop cyber onslaught

Companies in Japan are among the world's most vulnerable to cyber attacks, and threats against state entities have more than doubled since 2010 to one every 30 seconds.

Japan's $212 billion pachinko pastime

The pachinko industry in Japan wants casinos, driven by attendance that has sunk more than 60 per cent since the mid-90s and an uncertain legal status.

Dita De Boni: Tough target for arrows of change

When I was 16 - that's (ahem) 25 years ago now, right before Japan spiralled into economic stagnation - I stayed a year with a Japanese family as an AFS exchange student.

Editorial: Trade deal costly

Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, must have noticed a striking difference between New Zealand and Australia when he visited the countries on consecutive days this week.

Fran O'Sullivan: Japan playing hardball on trade deal

Shinzo Abe didn't quite throw his weight around when he met John Key at Government House in Auckland this week.

Japan: Grin and bear it on Japanese trails

Can a Kiwi cyclist out-sprint a hungry brown bear? In Japan Victoria Clark fixates on this point while pedalling through Hokkaido's forests. She need not have worried.

Teen players caught stealing in Japan

Rugby players from a top school have been caught shoplifting at a world championship in Japan.

US denials anger sick veterans

Megamouth shark caught off the coast of Japan

An extremely rare female deep-water megamouth shark has been caught off the coast of Shizuoka in Japan, in what is believed to be only the 58th known sighting of the animal on record.

Mt Niseko Annupuri, Japan

This resort in Hokkaido prefecture, 1000km north of Tokyo, gets enough snow to allow skiing for seven months of the year.<BR><BR> <I>For further information see <a href='http://360niseko.com' target='_blank'>360niseko.com</a>.</I>

Japan: Where the view is stunning and rare

New Zealand has a rival for the world's most breathtaking landscapes, writes Hayden Donnell, after taking in the view from Mt Annupuri during a skiing trip to the resort of Niseko on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Fran O'Sullivan: Aussie trade deals hold risks for NZ

Australia is on track to notch what experts are calling an "Asia Inc" trade trifecta.

Editorial: Standing up to Japan vital in trade talks

Japan, the world's third-biggest economy, has a long and notorious history of protectionism.

Whalers may yet return

Japan expects its whaling programme in the Southern Ocean will resume next year, court documents indicate.