Raw Japan
Slices of Japanese business, politics and life
from Left field:
Tears as Toyota pull out of Formula One
Toyota team principal Tadashi Yamashina was in tears as the Japanese company announced it has withdrawn from Formula One with immediate effect.
Japan has deserted motorsport on mass during the economic crisis (Honda and Bridgestone to name just two).
Company president Akio Toyoda apologised for the team's failure to record a single race victory since joining F1 in 2002 despite an estimated annual budget of around $300 million.
"It was a very difficult but unavoidable decision," he told a news conference in Tokyo.
