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.
Commentary | COUNTERPOINT Sep 28, 2013
Japan and Korea: Reconciliation and redress for wrongs remain elusive
by Jeff Kingston
On the eve of the International Olympic Committee’s decision to award the 2020 Summer Games to Tokyo, Seoul’s abrupt import ban on all fisheries products from Fukushima and seven other Japanese prefectures was clearly a response to public concerns about radiation spewing into the ...
National | Focus Sep 28, 2013
Abe uses U.N. stage to push more proactive security role
by Noriyuki Suzuki
Delivering his message to a global audience at the United Nations last week, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe outlined his vision of Japan as a pacifist nation willing to engage more actively in international security. Abe told the annual U.N. General Assembly in New York ...
National Sep 28, 2013
Chinese ships still circling Senkakus but door to dialogue open, Abe says
Chinese state vessels are still steaming into Japan's waters around the Senkaku Islands but the door to dialogue is always open, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says.
Economy Sep 27, 2013
Energy-driven inflation rate puts pressure on Abe to engineer wage hikes
Inflation accelerates to its fastest pace since 2008 on higher energy costs rather than real demand, pressuring Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to lobby harder for wage increases.
National Sep 27, 2013
Abe urges Rouhani to be flexible over arms
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has urged Iranian President Hasan Rouhani to resolve Tehran’s alleged nuclear weapons program with flexibility and by building on a recent shift toward dialogue, a Japanese official said. Abe told Rouhani on Thursday that “showing flexibility should be a key” ...
National Sep 27, 2013
Abe signals readiness to involve Japan more in U.N.'s security framework
At the U.N. General Assembly, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he wants Japan to engage more proactively in the global body's collective security framework.
Business Sep 26, 2013
Abe pitches deregulation, women workers to Wall Street
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe told Wall Street on Wednesday that alongside his push for deregulation and empowering women to spur the economy, Japan will contribute to nuclear safety technology by overcoming the Fukushima crisis.
National Sep 26, 2013
Abe tries to counter militant image in U.S.
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says in New York that Japan will be a "proactive contributor to peace" and scoffs at being labeled a "right-wing militarist."
National Sep 26, 2013
Abe, U.N. chief Ban vow cooperation over Syria, North Korea
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon have agreed to cooperate on eliminating Syria’s chemical weapons and on tackling North Korea’s nuclear threat and humanitarian issues, a Japanese official said. During their talks Wednesday in New York, Abe said his administration supports ...
National Sep 25, 2013
Japan, France agree on need for strong U.N. resolution on Syria
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and French President Francois Hollande have agreed at a summit on the need for a strong U.N. resolution to stop Syria from using chemical weapons, while pledging cooperation on decommissioning the Fukushima No. 1 plant, a Japanese official said. At ...
Politics & Diplomacy Sep 25, 2013
Abe: No time frame on collective defense goal
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe says he doesn't have a specific time frame for changing the ban on collective self-defense as he prepares to address the U.N. General Assembly.
National Sep 25, 2013
Canada agrees to begin exporting shale gas to Japan
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and Canada’s Prime Minister Stephen Harper agreed Tuesday that Canada will begin exporting shale gas to Japan, making it the second country after the U.S. to provide the nation with the natural gas. During the summit talks in Ottawa, Abe ...