The centre of Hokkaido delivers family-friendly service and plenty of snow, finds Kelly Lynch.

Nanotechnology will experience huge growth in the coming years and affect most areas of our lives, says an expert in the field, Auckland University senior lecturer Michelle Dickinson.

Power of monetary policy to drive global growth is nearing its limit. Further progress depends on government leaders.

MGM Resorts has scouted the world's biggest fish market as a potential site for the casino resort it wants to build in Japan.

Only one female executive made it to the top-earner list of Japan's Nikkei 225 companies last year.

Michael Fitzgerald is one of the best Kiwi defenders on the world stage - but currently has more chance of turning out for Japan than NZ.

Japan's program of monetary stimulus, fiscal stimulus, and structural reforms hasn't created as much growth as proponents hoped it would.

The Japanese consumer lender at the centre of a scandal over loans to gangsters that engulfed Mizuho Financial Group sold debt at about a fifth of the premium global companies pay, as investors search for yield.

Sumo wrestlers come in all sizes, finds Brett Atkinson, but the man mountains are the most fascinating.

Furuno Electric Co, best known for its fish finder systems, has purchased a 10 per cent stake in Electronic Navigation, owned by the Hodson family.

Companies in Japan are among the world's most vulnerable to cyber attacks, and threats against state entities have more than doubled since 2010 to one every 30 seconds.

The pachinko industry in Japan wants casinos, driven by attendance that has sunk more than 60 per cent since the mid-90s and an uncertain legal status.

When I was 16 - that's (ahem) 25 years ago now, right before Japan spiralled into economic stagnation - I stayed a year with a Japanese family as an AFS exchange student.

Japan's Prime Minister, Shinzo Abe, must have noticed a striking difference between New Zealand and Australia when he visited the countries on consecutive days this week.

Shinzo Abe didn't quite throw his weight around when he met John Key at Government House in Auckland this week.

Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is unabashed by criticism of Japan's role in the Trans Pacific Partnership trade negotiations.

John Key will have to pick his way through a diplomatic minefield when he hosts Japan PM Shinzo Abe in Auckland on Monday during his first formal visit to New Zealand.

Japan's cultural barriers may seem immense but Sarah MacDonald finds getting to know the locals in the busy city can be easy.

Thousands of flights in Japan could be cancelled this summer as the country's rapidly ageing population leads to a nationwide shortage of airline pilots.

Hayden Donnell discovers the dangers - and exhilaration - of Sapporo Beer Garden.

Can a Kiwi cyclist out-sprint a hungry brown bear? In Japan Victoria Clark fixates on this point while pedalling through Hokkaido's forests. She need not have worried.

Rugby players from a top school have been caught shoplifting at a world championship in Japan.

An extremely rare female deep-water megamouth shark has been caught off the coast of Shizuoka in Japan, in what is believed to be only the 58th known sighting of the animal on record.

This resort in Hokkaido prefecture, 1000km north of Tokyo, gets enough snow to allow skiing for seven months of the year.

For further information see 360niseko.com.

New Zealand has a rival for the world's most breathtaking landscapes, writes Hayden Donnell, after taking in the view from Mt Annupuri during a skiing trip to the resort of Niseko on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

Australia is on track to notch what experts are calling an "Asia Inc" trade trifecta.