Kenzo Uchida - The Japan Times

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Kenzo Uchida

COMMENTARY

Feb 26, 2000

The two faces of local power

A storm of controversy is raging over Tokyo Gov. Shintaro Ishihara's Feb. 7 proposal to impose a tax on major banks operating in the metropolis. Despite strong objections raised by central government officials and bankers, Ishihara said he was determined to implement the proposal, which he said was carefully...

COMMENTARY

Jan 28, 2000

Debate kicks off on the Constitution

As the ordinary Diet session opened Jan. 20, the tripartite ruling bloc and the opposition forces squared off over a proposal to cut the number of Lower House seats. With a dissolution of the Lower House for a snap election looming, sharp rivalry is brewing between the coalition, made up of the Liberal...

COMMENTARY

Jan 14, 2000

Awaiting Diet dissolution

Despite widespread anxieties about potential Y2K disasters, the world greeted the new millennium without trouble. Volatility in the New York and Tokyo stock markets since the beginning of the year should not cause undue concern about the economic future at home and abroad.

COMMENTARY

Dec 3, 1999

Bully politics back in vogue

Many important bills are pending in the current extraordinary Diet session that closes Dec. 15, and the government and the ruling tripartite coalition no doubt are considering an extension of the session. The three opposition parties, meanwhile, are gearing up to quash the bills and present a no-confidence...

COMMENTARY

Nov 20, 1999

Heading for a showdown

Nov. 9 marked the 10th anniversary of the collapse of the Berlin Wall in 1989, which led to the end of the Cold War. The international situation, liberated from ideological confrontations, has changed a great deal since then.

COMMENTARY

Oct 22, 1999

Voters send LDP a message

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi won re-election in the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election held Sept. 21. Four days later, Yukio Hatoyama was elected chief of the top opposition party, the Democratic Party of Japan. On Oct. 5, Obuchi launched his new three-party coalition government after New...

COMMENTARY

Aug 20, 1999

A season for political typhoons

The Japanese political world entered a summer recess when the extended ordinary Diet session closed Aug. 13. The session, convoked in January and extended in June for 57 days, passed a series of important bills, thanks to a legislative tieup among the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party...

COMMENTARY

May 1, 1999

Obuchi confounds the skeptics

The Lower House on Tuesday approved a legislative package for implementing the updated Japan-U.S. defense cooperation guidelines and sent it immediately to the Upper House. The action came after agreement among the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, the Liberal Party (the LDP's junior coalition partner)...

COMMENTARY

Apr 16, 1999

Moving from words to action

Running as an independent, Shintaro Ishihara overwhelmingly won the Tokyo gubernatorial election, the most closely watched of local elections held nationwide April 11. Voter interest in the election was strong. Despite the inclement weather earlier that day, voter turnout was 58 percent, up 7 percentage...

COMMENTARY

Mar 20, 1999

A cloudy outlook for spring

The Dow-Jones industrial average on the New York Stock Exchange broke through the barrier of 10,000 March 16. Following the overnight rally, the benchmark Nikkei average on the Tokyo Stock Exchange regained the 16,000 level for the first time in seven and a half months. The advances appear to signal...

COMMENTARY

Mar 10, 1999

Clouds looming on the Diet's horizon

The situation in the Diet looks calm for now. The debate on the fiscal 1999 government budget, the most important item before the Diet, is proceeding smoothly. The budget bill has already cleared the Lower House and is expected to pass the Upper House around March 20, well before the start of the new...

COMMENTARY

Feb 20, 1999

As Tokyo goes, so goes Japan

Utter chaos reigns in the runup to the Tokyo gubernatorial election, the most important of all local elections to be held in April. The outcome of the preliminary battle is likely to have a great influence on national politics.

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