A fire has engulfed a home for welfare recipients in northern Japan, killing 11 people and injuring three, officials said.

The world’s oldest person, a Japanese woman, died yesterday, a few weeks after celebrating her 117th birthday.

Japan's health ministry is launching an investigation after it was estimated 14,000 people in the country die every year in the bath.

QUICKLY greying Japan said it has a record 47,756 people aged 100 or older — most of them women.

Japan’s industrial production plunged at a record pace in January, the government said today, as collapsing overseas demand forced manufacturers to keep slashing output and jobs. Household spending and retail sales also fell.