Society

Toyota's Prius voted this year's best car

Dec 08 (Forbes) - When you hear the name Prius, most people normally think of a fuel efficient car with ho-hum styling and very average performance. What Toyota did to its latest version of the hybrid pioneer has the industry goggle-eyed with the best-looking Prius ever and performance and mileage numbers to match.

And 60 judges in Japan just voted it that country’s Car of the Year for 2023-24. This was the third time that the Prius has captured Japan’s highest motoring honor, previously winning for 1997-98 and 2009-10.

Entering the Japan Car of the Year awards ceremony as the favorite to win, the Prius polled a massive 360 votes after the Japan COTY committee introduced a new voting system giving jurors 16 votes to spread between their best three cars.

Polling 150 votes thanks to its great handling and three powertrains in one chassis—gasoline, diesel mild hybrid and fully electric—the BMW X1 finished in second place to take out the Import Car of the Year trophy, with the Honda ZR-V crossover coming in third with 100 votes. ...continue reading

Source: TBS NEWS

China Set to Lift Japanese Seafood Ban

The Japanese government and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) have decided to enhance their monitoring system for the release of treated water from the Fukushima nuclear plant into the ocean, as efforts to resume seafood imports from Japan to China gain momentum.

Tohoku Shinkansen Unexpected Detaches at 315 km/h

The Tohoku Shinkansen came to a halt for five hours on Thursday due to an unexpected mid-journey separation of the linked Hayabusa and Komachi trains, 30 minutes after passing Furukawa Station with a total of 320 passengers on board.

Eruption Warning for Izu's Sumisu Island

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'Convenience Store of the Future' Launched with AI Cameras and Robots

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Japanese boy attacked near school in China dies, consulate says

A ten-year-old boy who was attacked on his way to a Japanese school in southern China has died of his injuries. (NHK)

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