Japan

In remarks to the legislature, the prime minister said the possibility that the U.S. would raise the duty on auto imports from his country as high as 25 percent is "hard for Japan to understand."

Jiachang's Heart, inspired by the story of a 17-year-old Taiwanese girl who volunteers as a nurse for the Japanese army, is taken off the air after criticism about its historical portrayal.

It is at least the second time in about six months that a Japanese railway has been forced to apologize to passengers for a seconds-early departure.

Taro Aso appeared to defend his former deputy who stepped down last month amid accusations that he made sexually suggestive remarks to a female television reporter.

Sony stopped making Aibo robotic dogs in 2006. Since then, an electronics repair company has been keeping them "alive" through organ donations from "dead" Aibos. But never before a proper funeral.

The 125-year-old soft drink giant hopes to tap into the Japanese market for Chu-Hui, a low-alcohol drink that has grown in popularity in recent years.

Fans showered the ice with Winnie the Pooh plush toys after Yuzuru Hanyu's Thursday night performance. The A. A. Milne character has become an unofficial mascot for the Japanese skater.

For the second time this week, markets in Shanghai, Hong Kong and Japan followed 1,000-point plunges of the Dow with big sell-offs of their own.