Japanese police have been looking for traces of poison in the home of a woman arrested on suspicion of killing her husband, one of six men who have died while in a relationship with her over the past 20 years.

Seven people are unaccounted for after a volcano in central Japan erupted in spectacular fashion today.

Heavy rains forecast in western Japan are raising the risk of more landslides and hindering efforts to locate dozens of people still missing after several hills in Hiroshima collapsed.

Japanese authorities have identified the causes of fuel leaks and other issues with Boeing’s 787 Dreamliner, but are still investigating the more serious battery problem that forced an emergency landing in January and the worldwide grounding of the jets.

The battery that caught fire in a Japan Airlines Boeing 787 Dreamliner was not overcharged, but US government investigators warned there could still be problems with wiring or other components.

US safety experts and Boeing inspectors joined a Japanese investigation today into the 787 jet at the centre of a worldwide grounding of the technologically-advanced aircraft.

A battery beneath the cockpit of the Boeing 787 forced to make an emergency landing in Japan was swollen from overheating, a safety official said today, as India joined the US and Japan in grounding the aircraft because of fire risk.

More than half the Boeing 787s in use around the world have been grounded after an emergency landing by one of the jets revealed a battery fire risk in the aircraft.

Japan's major airlines grounded their Boeing 787 planes for safety checks today, hours after one was forced to make an emergency landing, in the latest blow for the new jet.

A seismic fault running underneath a nuclear plant in western Japan is likely to be active, which could force the scrapping of one of its two reactors, according to a team of geologists.

Japan’s Fukushima nuclear crisis was a preventable disaster resulting from “collusion” among the government, regulators and the plant operator, an expert panel said, wrapping up an inquiry into the worst nuclear accident in 25 years.

Japan’s government today approved bringing the country’s first nuclear reactors back online since last year’s earthquake and tsunami led to a shutdown of reactors nationwide.

The family of murdered British teacher Lindsay Hawker have spoken of their relief after a Japanese court rejected an appeal by her killer.

Japan's defence minister has ordered missile units to intercept a rocket expected to be launched by North Korea next month if it flies over Japan.

A year on from the devastating earthquake and tsunami, Japan has managed to move on but disposing of debris is a problem, writes Yuriko Koike

IT could be the most costly car crash ever.

THE father of murdered British teacher Lindsay Hawker said his family had finally achieved justice after her killer was jailed for life in Japan.

A 70-year-old woman has been found alive four days after the devastating earthquake and tsunami in north-eastern Japan.

THE Japanese man accused of murdering British teacher Lindsay Hawker has written a book confessing to the killing — and has promised to donate the proceeds to her family.

Japan’s capital has retained its leadership in the world of gastronomy with more top-rated Michelin restaurants than Paris for the second year in a row.

Tokyo's third international airport opened today amid criticism it is a waste of money expected to serve just a fraction of the predicted passengers.

At least nine people were killed and nine others were missing in western Japan today after Typhoon Etau slammed into the country, bringing heavy rain that triggered floods and landslides.

Dolphins at a Japanese aquarium are on a low-fat diet after they developed pot bellies and failing to look sharp in their aquatic performances.

About 5,400 residents were evacuated in Osaka in western Japan and highways were closed today as army experts disposed of a large unexploded bomb believed to have been dropped by the US military during the Second World War, authorities said.

A Japanese zookeeper was mauled to death by a tiger today while he was cleaning the animal’s cage, police said.

Japanese police say they evacuated 34 people from an apartment building where a man apparently committed suicide by mixing chemicals and inhaling the fumes.

A group of Japanese scientists have developed a robot that acts like a toddler to better understand child development.

One person was killed and 21 others injured when a rollercoaster hit a guard-rail at an amusement park in western Japan today, officials and a media report said.

Five human bodies were left to decompose in a house in western Japan, apparently because of a belief in resurrection.

A Japan Airlines plane with 259 passengers on board made a successful emergency landing in western Japan today with one of its two engines out.

A Japanese man has been sentenced to death for murdering three people he lured through a suicide website by offering to die with them.

Nippon Airways grounded its entire fleet of Bombardier planes in Japan today after the front landing gear on one failed to descend.

Japan will cut its Atlantic bluefin tuna catch by 23% by 2010 in an effort to help preserve stocks of the endangered fish, the country’s fisheries agency announced today.

AN EXTRAORDINARY claim was made recently in a BBC report. It concerned a mountaineering accident and its consequences.

A huge 8.3 magnitude earthquake off Japan’s northern coast sparked a tsunami warning today, sending thousands along the archipelago’s eastern coast fleeing to higher ground.

Momofuku Ando, the Japanese inventor of instant noodles, has died, according to Nissin Food Products Co, the company he founded. He was 96.

Twenty-five passengers and the driver were injured when a train derailed in western Japan.

Smoke poured out of a nuclear power plant facility in western Japan today, but no injuries or radiation leakage was reported, an official said.

Japanese police found three people collapsed inside a car in an apparent group suicide attempt, Kyodo News agency reported today.

Police in western Japan arrested a woman suspected of stabbing to death two young children who were found dumped on a roadside in a remote farming area.

The head of East Japan Railway Company apologised today for a fatal train crash that killed at least five people on Christmas Day, saying he took full responsibility for the incident.

The train derailment death toll in northern Japan rose to five as rescuers searched the snow-covered wreck today, following reports that more passengers could be trapped inside.

Hundreds of thousands of homes were without power in central and western Japan today after a record snowfall that also forced the suspension of train services and closed an international airport.

China has learned the lessons of the Sars outbreak and pledged complete openness as it fights bird flu in its multibillion domestic poultry flock.