Japan

As if we needed any more reasons to take a Subaru BRZ to the track, Subaru has just announced that it will be producing a racing-spec version of the car straight from the assembly line. The only problem is that the BRZ RA Racing is being offered for the Japanese domestic market only, and won't be ...

Remember the Nismo Leaf Nismo Concept show at the Tokyo Motor Show more than a year ago? To refresh your memory, it was a Nissan Leaf gussied up with an aerodynamic body kit, new wheels and a few cosmetic enhancements inside the cabin – the motor and powertrain remain unchanged. In any ...

A report in Japan's Nikkei newspaper cited by Automotive News claims that the father of the Prius, Takeshi Uchiyamada, will take the role of chairman at Toyota. Currently Toyota's vice chairman, Uchiyamada joined the automaker in 1969, and in 1994 became the chief engineer of the Vehicle ...

Nissan is headed to this year's Tokyo Auto Salon with a spate of custom hardware, including tweaked versions of the company's Juke, Note, Fairlady Z and GT-R. Even the humble Leaf EV and hefty NV350 have received a little love from designers and engineers. The Juke Nismo will share the stage with ...

Engineers at the Fukuoka Institute of Technology in Japan are trying to come up with a new way to encourage people to drive safer by using scare tactics. Rather than a flashing red light or beeping tone to warn drivers of potential crashes, this system would be more proactive by warning drivers ...

While Google and Audi explore the possibilities of autonomous vehicles, Toyota and its Lexus division are studying the intermediate step of vehicles equipped with a deep suite of technology that help drivers make the best decisions. Introduced at this week's Consumer Electronics Show in Las ...

Shinzo Abe was sworn in as Japan's new prime minister – its seventh in six years – barely a week ago. To count him as the seventh PM is a bit disingenuous, in fact, since he was the prime minister in 2006 and 2007 but had to retire due to medical issues. His return came after a ...

We're piecing this together as best we can from the original Japanese with the help of Google Translate, but it seems Chevrolet is headed to the Tokyo Auto Salon with three special vehicles. Embracing the customization of American metal through the themes of cool, fun and freedom, the showpiece ...

The 58-year-old Toyota Crown line has entered its 14th generation with the unveil of the 2013 Crown Athlete and Crown Royal sedans for the Japanese market, both of which can be had with hybrid power. The standard engine is a 2.5-liter V6 with 200 horsepower and 179 pound-feet of torque, while the ...

The Tokyo Auto Salon will welcome a Toyota GT86 (known here as the Scion FR-S) tuned by Gazoo Racing, said to be called the GRMN Sports FR Concept Platinum. We only get the briefest of teasers right now before the show begins on January 11, so we don't have much to go on beyond a unique lower ...

Honda has pulled back the covers on what we can expect to see at the 2013 Tokyo Auto Salon, including what looks to be an S2000 refresh some four years after the convertible left production. The S2000 Modulo Climax is an "exhibition model" based on the old roadster, but features updated front and ...

Toyota is expecting to see a sales increase of around two percent next year, according to Automotive News. The Japanese manufacturer is set to retake its position as the world's largest automaker this year, and 2013 may see the company's global sales step to 9.91 million vehicles. That figure ...

Humanix is a group of students at Japan's Hiroshima University who want to build a car that is kind to humans. What they've done, at least with this car, the iSAVE-SC1, is build an EV that is kind to the Earth and mankind, though a nemesis to self-respect. The body of the three-wheeled electric ...

The 2014 Subaru Forester is not on sale yet here in the US, but it has been on sale in Japan since the middle of last month. In that time, Subaru says that the 8,149 customer orders it has received have more than quadrupled the original expectation of just 2,000 units. To go along with these ...

The only reason we have the Nissan GT-R is because of the exploits of all those GT-Rs we didn't get, and it started with the first one, a model at the time called the Skyline GT, at the 1964 Grand Prix at Suzuka. It was there that modified Prince Motor Company Skyline sedans, only just ...

After we drove a prototype of the 2014 Lexus IS, we were told that Lexus was shipping it back to Japan. As it turns out, late-night funnyman Jay Leno was already in the motherland with the coming sport sedan, and he lapped it around Fuji Motor Speedway with Chief Engineer Junichi Furuyama. This ...

The Mazda CX-5 stamped its Kodo design and SkyActiv technology authority all over the Japan Car of the Year awards, taking the top prize ahead of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota GT 86. It is Mazda's second victory in the last ten years, the 2005 MX-5 claiming the same trophy, and the fourth time the ...

The Associated Press reports a tunnel collapse between Tokyo and central Japan has left seven people missing. Rescue workers were unable to reach trapped and injured drivers on Sunday after a vehicle caught fire and filled the tunnel with smoke. Those who escaped reported hearing the voices of ...

The Lexus HS 250h was put to rest in the US at the beginning of this year, but it is apparently being offered a way back onto the mortal coil in the Japanese market. This is reputedly a picture of what the JDM-spec entry-level Lexus hybrid sedan will look like, and what a difference 11 months ...

The 2011 earthquake and tsunami that struck Japan took quite the toll on the automotive industry in that nation. Not content to lean on that tragedy as excuse for slagging sales, the Japanese automakers are planning on a major production expansion in North America. The aim is to reclaim the ...