Economy | ANALYSIS
Households to take hit from tax hike
by Tomoko Otake
The consumption tax increase will hit every household in Japan hard, with many people’s financial future hanging on whether their wages rise enough to offset the hike's impact.
National Topics
National Oct 3, 2013
New spill at No. 1 laid to typhoon miscalculation
by Reiji Yoshida
An apparent miscalculation amid a typhoon caused a storage tank to overflow at the wrecked Fukushima No. 1 power plant, releasing about 430 liters of radioactive water into the Pacific Ocean, Tokyo Electric Power Co. said Thursday. Authorities are still groping for a solution ...
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 3, 2013
U.S., Japan to update defense rules in 2014
by Mizuho Aoki
The diplomacy and defense chiefs of Japan and the United States agreed Thursday to revise a defense cooperation guideline by the end of 2014 so their security alliance will reflect the increasingly severe situation in the Asia-Pacific region. In the first “two-plus-two” meeting ever ...
National Oct 3, 2013
New radioactive water leak found at Fukushima No. 1: Tepco
Tokyo Electric Power Co. says it has found that an unspecified amount of water contaminated with a highly concentrated radioactive substance escaped from another storage tank at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant and some may have reached the Pacific Ocean. Tepco said Wednesday ...
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 3, 2013
Japan, U.S. defense chiefs meet on cybersecurity
Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera and U.S. Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel, at the start of a meeting Thursday in Tokyo, confirmed their cooperation on fighting cyberattacks and training personnel capable of countering such threats. Onodera and Hagel were expected to agree on creating a bilateral ...
National Oct 3, 2013
University of Tokyo ranked No. 1 in Asia: global survey
The University of Tokyo is once again the highest-performing tertiary institution in Asia, according to the Times Higher Education World University Rankings released Wednesday. The prestigious university moved up four places from last year to 23rd in this year’s table. Japan also solidified its ...
National Oct 2, 2013
Fukushima No. 1 mishandling may foreclose on Tepco reactor restarts: NRA
Tokyo Electric Power Co.'s apparent inept handling of the triple-meltdown crisis at its Fukushima No. 1 atomic plant may foreclose on its bid to restart two idled reactors in Niigata Prefecture, the Nuclear Regulation Authority chief indicates.
National Oct 2, 2013
U.S. paralysis leaves travel agencies scrambling
by Magdalena Osumi
The U.S. government shutdown that started at midnight Monday has impacted the global travel industry, with tourist agencies in Japan scrambling to avoid severe losses.
National Oct 2, 2013
Woman killed by train after saving man
A woman is struck and killed by a train after dashing into a Yokohama railroad crossing and moving to safety a 74-year-old man lying on the tracks.
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 2, 2013
Support rate for Abe Cabinet rises to 63.3%: Kyodo poll
The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s Cabinet stands at 63.3 percent, up from 61.8 percent last month, a Kyodo News survey showed Wednesday, despite the government’s recent decision to raise the politically sensitive sales tax. In the latest survey, 53.3 percent of ...
Crime & Legal Oct 2, 2013
Food stall owner arrested over fatal blast at Kyoto fireworks festival
Police arrested a food stall owner Wednesday over an explosion at a fireworks event in Fukuchiyama, Kyoto Prefecture, on Aug. 15 that killed three people and injured 55 others, including him. Ryohei Watanabe, 38, was arrested by the Kyoto Prefectural Police on suspicion of ...
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 2, 2013
Koizumi takes up post for Tohoku reconstruction
by Ayako Mie
Shinjiro Koizumi’s appointment Monday as parliamentary secretary in charge of Tohoku’s recovery has generated much attention amid mounting criticism of the government for failing to speed up reconstruction efforts or end the radioactive water spill into the sea at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear ...
Politics & Diplomacy Oct 2, 2013
Noda slams 'Abenomics' as pork
Former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Tuesday criticized current leader Shinzo Abe’s latest economic stimulus program as “pork.” “I cannot help feeling that it is pork-barrel spending,” Noda, a supreme adviser of the Democratic Party of Japan, said in a speech in Washington, referring ...