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 Sep 30, 2013
Korean author issues call for talks on sex slave issue
The South Korean author of a much-discussed book on “comfort women” is calling for broad-based talks between Japan and South Korea to seek a resolution on the women, who were forced into prostitution for Imperial Japanese soldiers. In a recent interview, Park Yu-ha, a ...
National Sep 30, 2013
New trap allows boars to be caught by smartphone
Teaming with an experienced hunter, researchers at Kyushu University have come up with a boar trap that can be activated remotely with a smartphone. Wild boars are to blame for increasingly costly crop damage as their areas of activity expand and the number of ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Art restorer uses science to resurrect paintings
by Shinichi Tokuda
For more than 40 years, Emile Yoshimura has brought more than 10,000 old damaged paintings back to life, including some by eminent artists dating back 200 to 300 years. Most of the paintings he deals with are oil paintings on canvas, which can crack ...
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 30, 2013
Ruling bloc to put off reconstruction surcharge decision
by Ayako Mie
The ruling coalition was expected Monday evening to delay until the end of December the decision on whether to end the Tohoku reconstruction surcharge for companies a year earlier than planned, amid mounting criticism that it would not lead to wage hikes — one ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Young people starting to warm up to finding employment with NPOs
by Daisuke Kawashima
An increasing number of young Japanese are seeking jobs with nonprofit organizations because they want to get involved in addressing social problems. While working for NPOs doesn’t always provide stable employment, they can be a rewarding place for young people eager to change society, ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Abe hosts Mongolia's chief at home
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe held a meeting with Mongolian President Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj at his private residence in the Tomigaya district of Shibuya Ward, Tokyo, on Sunday afternoon. Elbegdorj decided to stop by Tokyo on his way home from New York, where he attended the ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Chinese held in fatal tanker collision
The Japan Coast Guard has arrested a Chinese crew member over the fatal collision Friday between two cargo ships south of Tokyo. Xia Hongbo, 35, was on duty when the 2,962-ton Jia Hui collided with the 498-ton Eifuku Maru No. 18 and was at ...
National Sep 30, 2013
China not planning meeting with Abe
China has no plans to arrange a meeting between President Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on the sidelines of a summit of APEC leaders next week in Indonesia, a senior Chinese diplomat said Sunday. “We don’t have such a plan at this ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Ex-brokerage exec fined ¥1.5 million
A former executive of SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. was sentenced Monday to 2½ years in prison, suspended for four years, and fined ¥1.5 million for abetting insider trading by leaking undisclosed business information in 2010 and 2011. According to the Yokohama District Court, Hiroyoshi ...
Politics & Diplomacy | ANALYSIS Sep 30, 2013
Hashimoto's Osaka merger dream in jeopardy
by Reiji Yoshida
Nippon Ishin no Kai (Japan Restoration Party) co-leader and Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto was facing a critical battle. And he lost. On Sunday, a candidate fielded by Nippon Ishin lost a local government election for the first time in Osaka Prefecture, the power base ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Mizuho to punish yakuza loan officials
Mizuho Bank will punish officials swept up in a scandal involving loans to anti-social groups including yakuza crime syndicates, President Yasuhiro Sato said Monday. “We need to take very stern action. We will discuss what the punishment would be appropriate retroactively,” Sato told reporters. ...
National Sep 30, 2013
Japan, U.S. to OK deal on transfer of marines
Japan and the United States plan to give the go-ahead at a high-level meeting this week to revise the bilateral accord on realigning U.S. Marine Corps personnel in Okinawa, as well as defense cooperation guidelines in response to China’s military buildup. The planned revision ...