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 | Q&A Aug 13, 2013
Former leader of Japan's ruling party against raising defense profile
Ahead of the anniversary Thursday of Japan's surrender in World War II, former Liberal Democratic Party President and noted dove Yohei Kono says Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could be igniting a never-ending regional arms race.
National Aug 12, 2013
Security panel to discuss Japan's response to cyberattacks on allies
An expert government panel on ending Japan’s self-imposed ban on exercising the right to collective self-defense will discuss the country’s response to cyberattacks, a government source said. Collective self-defense is the notion of a nation aiding an ally that comes under attack. In this ...
Editorial Aug 9, 2013
Mr. Abe's constitutional runaround
Shinzo Abe's choice for Cabinet Legislation Bureau chief gives away his intention to seek a constitutional justification for Japan's right to "collective self-defense."
Japan-related Aug 7, 2013
Gaffe-prone leaders are doing Japan no favors
by Hugh Cortazzi
It is in Japan's long-term interest for its politicians to avoid remarks that could exacerbate ill will toward Japan and thus detract from its goal of economic revival.
Japan-related Aug 6, 2013
Japan's security dilemma
by Brahma Chellaney
Chinese military planners have probably calculated that the U.S. is unlikely to threaten to devastate China in a Sino-Japanese conflict confined to the East China Sea.
Issues | THE FOREIGN ELEMENT Aug 5, 2013
SOFA: an unequal treaty that trumps the Constitution?
by Colin P.A. Jones
The prime minister's dogged focus on amending the American-tainted Constitution might reflect an uncomfortable unspoken truth — that it may be easier to change the Constitution than revise another document of potentially greater importance: the Status of Forces Agreement between Japan and the United ...
Politics & Diplomacy Aug 2, 2013
Abe pick sets stage for collective defense OK
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe plans to appoint Ambassador to France Ichiro Komatsu to head the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, apparently because he appears more amenable to the lifting of Japan's self-imposed ban on engaging in the right of collective self-defense.
Politics & Diplomacy Aug 2, 2013
Aso refuses to resign, retire over Nazi gaffe
Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso rules out stepping down as a Cabinet member or lawmaker for citing Nazi Germany as an example for revising the pacifist Constitution.
Politics & Diplomacy Aug 1, 2013
Aso retracts remark on 'learning from the Nazis'
by Reiji Yoshida
After facing criticism both at home and abroad, Finance Minister Taro Aso retracts his remark suggesting Japan should learn from the Nazis when it comes to revising the Constitution, saying it led to a “misunderstanding.”
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 31, 2013
Aso's Nazi-inspired quip rubs Seoul the wrong way
by Reiji Yoshida
Outspoken Finance Minister Taro Aso causes another international stir by urging Japanese politicians bent on revising the Constitution to learn from the way Germany under the Nazis amended the Weimar charter.
Politics & Diplomacy Jul 22, 2013
Article 96 revisionists short of two-thirds majority in Upper House
In Sunday’s election for House of Councilors, three political parties advocating a revision to Article 96 of the Constitution failed to secure the two-thirds majority required under the article for proposing a constitutional amendment. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and the opposition forces Your ...
Crime & Legal Jul 10, 2013
Top court may annul inheritance disparity
The Supreme Court convenes its Grand Bench to consider disputes over a Civil Code provision for less inheritance for illegitimate children, indicating it may reverse its earlier interpretation of the provision as constitutional.