Nine days after it was revealed that three Toyota Motor Corp. officials are being investigated for professional negligence over an eight-year delay in issuing a vehicle recall, Toyota executives made their first appearance before the media.</PARAGRAPH> <PHOTO> <TABLE WIDTH='250' ALIGN='RIGHT' BORDER='0'> <TR> <TD><IMG ALT='News photo' BORDER='0' SRC='../images/photos2006/nn20060721a3a.jpg' WIDTH='250' HEIGHT='133'/></TD> </TR> <TR> <TD><FONT SIZE='1'><B>Masatami Takimoto –

, a senior vice president at Toyota Motor Corp., and other Toyota executives bow Thursday at a news conference in Tokyo in apology over the firm's delay of eight years in revealing a defect in the Hilux Surf. KYODO PHOTO

Toyota was largely silent about whether officials in charge of quality control knew for eight years about the steering defect in the Hilux Surf sport utility vehicle before issuing a recall, saying the investigation is still ongoing.

U.S. designated South Korea a 'sensitive' country amid talk of nuclear weapons
Then-U.S. President Joe Biden and South Korean leader Yoon Suk Yeol attend an Indo-Pacific Economic Framework event at the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in San Francisco in November 2023.
Canada has a new prime minister with a very hard first assignment
Mark Carney, Canada's incoming prime minister (center), during a swearing-in ceremony at Rideau Hall in Ottawa on Friday. Carney has been sworn in as Canada's 24th prime minister, bringing the former central banker to power in the middle of an explosive trade war with the U.S.
Unification Church faces dissolution in Japan
The logo of the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, better known as the Unification Church, is seen at the entrance of its Japan branch headquarters in Tokyo in October 2023.
Tigers shut out the Cubs as Seiya Suzuki receives warm welcome in Tokyo
Tigers players walk off the field while carrying Cubs caps during a rare exhibition game between NPB and MLB clubs.
As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
Japan’s youth climate activists still searching for a breakthrough
While climate demonstrations around the world often draw thousands of participants, in Japan such demonstrations rarely break the 100-person barrier.
Bank of Japan unlikely to raise rates this week as trade war intensifies
Bank of Japan headquarters building in February. In January, the BOJ voted to raise its short-term policy rate to 0.5% from 0.25%, taking it to the highest level since the 2008 financial crisis.
As it turns 70, LDP struggles to find its fountain of youth
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (second from left) cheers along with other members of the Liberal Democratic Party during the party's annual convention in Tokyo on March 9.
As pollen season peaks, Japan's allergy struggle emerges from hibernation
Urbanization is amplifying pollen-related allergies as grasslands and soft soil give way to concrete and asphalt.
Japan to get tough on businesses not taking heatstroke countermeasures
A construction site in Tokyo in July 2018. Businesses failing to take measures to prevent severe heatstroke among employees will be subjected to criminal punishment from June.

Our Planet

Hidetaka Ishii, an official at the Chiba Municipal Government, says close coordination with private-sector operators is key for regional decarbonization efforts.
Japan’s climate heroes show potential and limits of local initiatives
By Tomoko Otake

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Passengers that were on a morning train attacked by members of the Aum Shinrikyo group wait for medical assistance outside Kasumigaseki Station on March 20,1995.
The day a religious cult brought terror to Tokyo
By Alex K.T. Martin

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