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April 25, 2024
 

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Takashi Hirokawa
For Takashi Hirokawa's latest contributions to The Japan Times, see below:
Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi in Tokyo on Tuesday
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2023
Coalition party leader seeks China visit this year to mend ties
Natsuo Yamaguchi, leader of Komeito, abandoned a planned trip last month as friction worsened with Japan’s biggest trading partner.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 9, 2023
LDP said to be divided if Kishida seeks BOJ pivot
With the nomination of a new governor likely to come next week, several party members said there will be opposition within the party if Kishida chooses Hirohide Yamaguchi.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Apr 4, 2022
BOJ should pay attention to yen, ruling coalition lawmaker says
Keiichi Ishii, secretary-general of Komeito, says efforts to hold down interest rates are weakening the currency.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Mar 22, 2022
Kishida aide says stimulus must be considered soon
'The surge in oil prices and food prices means that an economic package is essential at some point,' Deputy Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiji Kihara has said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 20, 2021
Japan’s election unlikely to bring more representation for women
Less than a fifth of candidates in Japan's upcoming election are female, unchanged from the last vote four years ago.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2021
Tokyo Olympics should shun foreign VIPs, opposition leader Edano says
Foreign leaders, sponsors and even International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach should stay away from next month's Tokyo Games, according to the CDP leader.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 1, 2020
Japan voters want virus tamed, not a snap poll, says Komeito chief
Komeito, backed by a lay Buddhist group and led by Natsuo Yamaguchi, provides vital local support for the ruling LDP in elections.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
May 31, 2017
Abe's coalition ally warns military shift could rile neighbors
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's coalition partner warned that a proposal to broaden the military's role to strike back against enemy attacks risks upsetting Japan's neighbors.
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2015
Abe adviser fears BOJ has den of conspirators opposing reflation
The Bank of Japan appears to be wavering in its commitment to unprecedented monetary easing, said Kozo Yamamoto, an adviser to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and an advocate of reflationary policies.
BUSINESS / Economy
Jan 20, 2015
LDP lawmaker says he wants inflation targets fixed in law
A lawmaker who has advised Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on economic policy said he will urge the government to enshrine its inflation-targeting agreements with the Bank of Japan in law as early as next year.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2014
Atonement for World War II actions insufficient, LDP veteran Kono says
Japan has failed to atone sufficiently for its actions in World War II, former Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, who wrote Japan's official apology for the use of wartime "comfort women, said recently.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 12, 2014
Abe exploiting window for biggest defense change since war
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, pressed by China and seeking to strengthen ties with the U.S., is considering Japan's biggest change in military engagement rules since World War II.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Jan 9, 2014
Takenaka touts Nikkei surge
Stocks could surpass a level not seen since 2007 if the Abe administration pushes through in its drive to loosen business regulations, said Heizo Takenaka, a member of a government council on special economic zones.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Dec 9, 2013
Abe gets Toyota, Hitachi help in push for wage gains
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe urged companies to increase wages faster than gains in the cost of living to break the legacy of 15 years of deflation, and praised Toyota Motor Corp. and Hitachi Ltd. for pledging to help.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Sep 6, 2013
With too many titles to list on 'meishi,' Amari is linchpin of 'Abenomics'
Akira Amari, minister for economic and fiscal policy, has so much on his plate that all of his titles don't fit on his business card. He's also the minister in charge of economic revitalization and reforming social security and taxes, and the head negotiator for the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2013
Beach-storming drill in U.S. hones SDF amphibious edge
One thousand members of the Self-Defense Forces have been learning how to recapture territory in the face of enemy fire, and while the shoreline may be California's, the skills they are building could one day be used closer to home.
BUSINESS
Jan 28, 2012
Bond yields could soar if Noda's tax hike plan stalls
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda says doubling the consumption tax is a necessary remedy to address soaring debt and social welfare costs, and while his opponents don't disagree, they're still not going to let him do it.
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2011
Shirakawa snubs '30s-style JGB-buying for rebuilding
Bank of Japan Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa is under fire for refusing to consider 1930s-style purchases of government bonds to fund reconstruction from the nation's largest earthquake on record.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2011
Disaster agency eyed to oversee recovery
A reconstruction agency may be created to oversee disaster repairs, while data showed the central bank pumped record liquidity into lenders as the nation grappled with its worst disaster since World War II.
BUSINESS
Aug 7, 2010
Fujii: An inflation target would hit workers, aged
Former Finance Minister Hirohisa Fujii said he opposes Bank of Japan inflation targets proposed by members of his ruling party because rising consumer prices would hurt the elderly and salaried workers.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tokyo issues strong warning on yen intervention as currency dips further
Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki speaks during a meeting with U.S. Treasury Secretary Janet Yellen and South Korean Finance Minister Choi Sang-mok on the sidelines of IMF and G20 meetings in Washington last week.
Japan’s cannabis market growing rapidly amid regulatory shift
The legality of products that contain cannabinoids, a group of substances derived from the cannabis plant, has been somewhat murky in Japan.
North Korean animators may be involved in Japan anime production, report says
North Korean animators may be involved in the production of some Japanese and U.S. animated shows, according to a report by a website providing analysis on North Korea.
BOJ to hold rates with focus on hawkish signals to buoy yen
Bank of Japan Gov. Kazuo Ueda hasn’t ruled out responding to exchange rates with a policy move if the impact on prices is seen to be "non-negligible.”
New workers name Shohei Ohtani as 'dream boss' for two years running
Shohei Ohtani has been overwhelmingly voted as the “dream boss” for people who started working in April, according to a survey.
A craft beer crawl through Tokyo’s top bars, brewpubs and dives
If all you drink is Asahi, Sapporo and Kirin, you're depriving yourself of some of the best craft beer Tokyo has to offer — and there sure is a lot of it out there.
'Sugar Baby Riri' gets nine-year prison term over romance scam
Mai Watanabe, who went by the moniker “Sugar Baby Riri,” dated older men and swindled them out of money by telling them fictitious heartbreaking stories about herself to gain their sympathy.
Tsukiji 2030s: A stadium, culinary center and transportation hub
A computer-generated image shows redevelopment plans for the former site of the Tsukiji fish market in Tokyo.
Hearing the impact of climate change in Okinawa, one bird call at a time
Toshihiro Kinjo (center), a research support technician at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology, inspects an audio recording device in Ginowan, Okinawa Prefecture, on April 3 as Masako Ogasawara, a research support specialist at OIST, looks on.

Podcast

From easily navigable train stations to the helpfulness of its municipal staff, Tokyo has earned high praise for its commitment to accessibility for disabled travelers.
[Rebroadcast] Japan is doing better on accessibility than you may think

Longform

Later this month, author Shogo Imamura will open Honmaru, a bookstore that allows other businesses to rent its shelves. It's part of a wave of ideas Japanese booksellers are trying to compete with online spaces.
The story isn't over for Japan's bookstores
By Alex K.T. Martin

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