TOKYO — A Japanese court on Thursday sentenced a 90-year-old former senior government official to five years in prison for a 2019 car accident which killed a 3-year-old girl and her mother, in a high-profile case in a fast-aging country where elderly drivers have become a safety concern.

The Tokyo District Court convicted Kozo Iizuka, a former top official at the trade and industry ministry, of negligence resulting in death and injury. His wife, who was a passenger in his car, was among nine people injured in the accident.

The refreshed Subaru Forester lineup expands to include a new Wilderness model for 2022, giving buyers a more off-pavement option in the compact SUV class. This new, rugged offering arrives alongside a minor feature update for the rest of the Forester lineup to help justify a $475 price hike for the base model.

Like the Outback, which got the Wilderness treatment earlier this year, the Forester Wilderness gets an upgraded suspension with an extra half-inch of ground clearance, pushing it to 9.2 inches. It didn't really need it; Forester was already one of the more capable compact SUVs on the market, but hey, if the people want more, who are we (or Subaru) to say otherwise? It comes with all-terrain tires too, so that extra ride height doesn't necessarily have to go to waste. 

The Toyota Supra and Nissan Skyline R34 GT-R are two of the most iconic Japanese sports cars ever produced and the Officially Gassed channel on YouTuber recently pitted them together for a series of performance tests.

When you own an enthusiast car, there are few events more nerve-wracking than the introduction of its successor. Should you upgrade? Is it worthwhile? What will it cost you to part out your mods and trade up? Well, there's good news for owners of the outgoing Scion FR-S, Toyota 86 and Subaru BRZ who are considering an upgrade: You might not have to start with a clean slate. 

If you're an owner (or even a casual fan) of the Subaru BRZ/Toyota 86 family of sports coupes, you're probably already aware that the 2022 models are more like aggressive overhauls than true, ground-up redesigns. Neither company really wants to put a spotlight on the fact that their coupes are a little less "all-new" and a little more "back and better than ever," but in our opinion, this is something Subaru and Toyota should embrace. 

Honda has announced that it will sell just 30 examples of the NSX Type S in Japan.

While the new Nissan Z has yet to hit the market, three sets of driving shoes have just been unveiled for the sports car.

Subaru is showing us all kinds of views of its upcoming Solterra electric crossover today. Teasers for the front, rear, side and interior of the crossover are available to pore over, and you can scroll through them all in the gallery above.

We'll start with the tiny shreds of information Subaru gave us in addition to the photos, though. Subaru confirmed that all-wheel drive will be standard with the Solterra. It also claimed "ample backseat and cargo room," but did not provide figures or photos to back the claim up. Lastly, Subaru said to expect it to come with "advanced safety technology," but didn't further define what that tech consisted of.

Subaru built a reputation as one of the quickest brands on the world rally stage, but when it comes to EVs, it has barely moved from the pits.

A vandal with motives unknown targeted Subarus in the historic Richmond, Virginia, neighborhood of Church Hill Saturday night, slashing the tires of more than a dozen vehicles along a mile-long path. 

No other vehicles appear to have been targeted, and local police have no leads apart from security camera footage of the suspect piercing the tires of what appears to be a Subaru Forester parked outside a local residence. The suspect wore gloves and deliberately punctured all four tires, so this appears to be anything but the random whim of a disgruntled passer-by. 

Toyota Racing Development has just unveiled a host of special parts for the Lexus ES that are only available in Japan.

Nissan has confirmed that it is bringing its e-POWER technology to Australia next year and will most likely do so with the new Qashqai.

Honda is putting the finishing touches on an face-lifted Passport, and our spies captured these photos of the Ridgeline-inspired styling update that should officially break cover soon if it's going to hit showrooms in time for the 2022 model year. 

The Passport is essentially a sawed-off Honda Pilot and only dates back to the 2019 model year. The current Pilot debuted three years earlier, and is expected to be replaced with a completely redesigned version for 2023. That too has been spotted, albeit with significantly more camouflage befitting something with a lot more changes in store.

Following a low-speed collision last week that pushed Toyota to halt operations of all of its e-Palette autonomous Olympic shuttles, the automaker says the shuttles can be used again, albeit with heightened security measures.

Toyota's Thai division is hoping to reignite the street truck trend by launching a version of the rugged Hilux inspired by the race cars that compete in the Super GT series. Unusually low and two-wheel-drive, it's accompanied by a taller, more off-road-focused performance model that offers four-wheel-drive and a handful of suspension upgrades.

Illustrating two opposite ends of the Hilux spectrum, the new Revo GR Sport models are ostensibly rooted in racing. The lower model is fittingly called Lo-Floor, and it lives up to that name by riding on 17-inch wheels wrapped by tires that are almost comically small. Toyota explained it also lowered the ride height by about an inch to achieve a more stable ride, especially at higher speeds, and a level of comfort described as being "passenger car-like."