Whaling foe to go on trial in Japan

The trial of an activist accused of interfering with Japan’s whaling fleet is scheduled to begin in a Japanese court Thursday.

Sony declares official end of the floppy

Sony announced Friday that it would end Japanese sales of the ancient storage medium in March 2011.

Outrage over ‘RapeLay’ video game

A Japanese video game that depicts teenage girls being raped sparked outrage among women’s groups. But now the game has gone viral and is readily available — sometimes for free.

Japanese Trailer for The Last Airbender

A Japanese trailer for M. Night Shyamalan’s The Last Airbender is now also online and can be watched using the player below. Opening on July 2, the fantasy action adventure stars Noah Ringer, Nicola Peltz, Jackson Rathbone, Dev Patel, Jessica Jade Andres, Aasif Mandvi, Shaun Toub, Cliff Curtis and Keong Sim.

Honda recalls 412,000 US vehicles on ’soft’ brakes

Honda has recalled some 412,000 vehicles in the United States because customers complained their brakes felt “soft,” the Japanese automaker said Tuesday. Honda said the problem is caused by air accumulating in a “vehicle stability assist modulator” which causes the pedal to get closer to the floor than normal before the vehicle stops. This latest action comes

California sues Toyota for hiding defects

A California prosecutor has filed a civil lawsuit against Toyota, accusing the Japanese carmaker of intentionally hiding deadly defects from consumers. “We’ll be alleging in court on behalf of the people of Orange County that Toyota knowingly sold cars and trucks with defects that caused Toyotas to accelerate suddenly and uncontrollably,” Orange Country District Attorney Tony

Daihatsu recalls 275,000 vehicles

Daihatsu Motor Co., a subsidiary of embattled Toyota, said Thursday it was recalling almost 275,000 vehicles due to possible defects, the latest in a raft of problems hitting Japanese carmakers. The move comes as Toyota, which owns a stake of over 51 percent in the small-car specialist, pulls more than eight million of its own cars

US probes runaway Toyota Prius

US investigators launched a probe Tuesday into a runaway Toyota Prius in California, a high-profile case that threatens to undermine the Japanese automaker’s effort to repair its battered image. James Sikes, 61, says he was driving his 2008 Prius on a busy freeway outside San Diego on Monday when he noticed his car starting to accelerate

Toyota hits back at claims of electronic defects

Toyota sought to discredit fears over the automaker’s electronics here Monday but were forced onto the defensive hours later when a Prius went speeding out of control along a California highway. The Japanese automaker insisted that the mechanical fixes it is applying to more than eight million vehicles recalled worldwide are sufficient and that its tests

Isuzu recalls 4000 trucks

The Japanese auto industry suffered a fresh blow to its reputation Thursday as the transport ministry announced the recall of 4,000 Isuzu trucks, after Toyota said it was checking a fault with its top model. Isuzu Motors, which is part owned by Toyota Motor Corp., was to recall the 4,286 natural-gas powered trucks in Japan from

Toyota chief won’t attend Feb 24 Congress hearing

Toyota president Akio Toyoda said Wednesday he would not attend a February 24 US congressional hearing into the carmaker’s safety recalls, saying his senior executives have his highest trust. News of the executive’s decision follows an announcement by the Japanese car-making giant that it would fit all new models with a system that cuts engine power

New Photos From Tekken

ComingSoon.net has received 20 new photos from Tekken , a futuristic martial arts action film based on the best-selling Japanese video game from Namco. The film plays out as a science fiction story set in the near future, about a rebel who rises up against the Tekken Corp. to seize freedom for his people. Directed by Dwight Little, the movie stars Luke Goss, Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa, Tamlyn Tomita, Gary Daniels, Chiaki Kuriyama, Cung Le, Jon Foo, Kelly Overton, Ian Anthony Dale, Lateef Crowder, Darrin Dewitt Henson, John Pyper-Ferguson, Mircea Monroe, Gary Ray Stearns, Candice Hillebrand and David Pitt. Tekken does not have a North American distributor or release date yet. To watch the previously-released trailer, go here ….

Iggy and the Stooges Reveal Bonuses on “Raw Power” Box Set

Photo: © Mick Rock Iggy and the Stooges’ 1973 classic Raw Power will be reissued April 27th as a Deluxe Edition box set complete with three discs worth of music featuring 15 previously unreleased bonuses — never-before-heard tracks, demos and remixes. One of Rolling Stone ’s 500 Greatest Albums of All Time , Raw Power was the first Stooges album to feature James Williamson on guitar in place of the great Ron Asheton, who switched to bass. The LP spawned the punk anthems “Search and Destroy” and “Gimme Danger.” As Rolling Stone previously reported , the Stooges, who will be inducted into Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in March, will celebrate their third album by performing the whole LP in concert. Five decades of Raw Power: The Stooges in photos. The first disc of the box set will contain the newly remastered Raw Power , featuring David Bowie’s original mix for the album that was previously out of print, while the second disc boasts the Georgia Peaches bootleg, comprised of an unreleased soundboard recording of a 1973 concert the Stooges performed in Atlanta, Georgia. Two more unreleased songs will grace the second disc: An Iggy Pop/James Williamson-penned outtake called “Doojiman” and a rehearsal performance of “Head On.” The third disc features four more outtakes — “I’m Hungry,” “I Got a Right,” “I’m Sick of You” and “Hey, Peter” — and alternate mixes of four tracks: “Shake Appeal,” “Death Trip” “Gimme Danger” and “Your Pretty Face is Going to Hell.” The Raw Power: Deluxe Edition box set also includes a new hour-long making-of Raw Power documentary, a 48-page photo book and a replica of the 1973 Japanese “Raw Power” 7” single. The box set will only be available through the Iggy and the Stooges Website . Read more about the Stooges’ road to the Rock Hall: • Iggy Pop Speaks Out About “Raw Power” Gigs, New Stooges Music • Q&A: The Stooges’ Iggy Pop

Accidents involving Toyota Prius Confirmed

The Japanese government has confirmed five new accidents involving Toyota Motor’s Prius hybrids and will urge the troubled car giant to investigate the cases, a newspaper reported Saturday. The Transport Ministry has received some 80 complaints in February about malfunctions in the brake system of the latest model of the flagship Prius, the Tokyo Shimbun reported

Ford admits hybrid brake problem

Ford Motor Co. admitted Thursday a problem affecting braking in some of its hybrid vehicles, and offered a software fix following a wave of problems affecting Japanese rival Toyota. The US automaker said it was offering the fix to owners of 2010-model Ford Fusion Hybrids and Mercury Milan Hybrids to update software of the regenerative

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