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Natsuko Fukue
JAPAN
Aug 30, 2011
Noda victorious in race for prime minister
Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda won the Democratic Party of Japan presidency Monday and will replace Naoto Kan as prime minister, becoming the ruling party's third leader since it swept to power in the historic 2009 general election.
JAPAN
Aug 26, 2011
Ban on beef shipments lifted
The government on Thursday lifted the last bans on shipments of beef cattle — from Iwate, Fukushima and Tochigi prefectures — suspended due to leaks of radioactive material from the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear plant.
JAPAN / Q&A
Aug 25, 2011
DPJ-only poll, but of national import
The Democratic Party of Japan will hold a midterm presidential election Monday to pick a successor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
JAPAN
Aug 24, 2011
Maehara, the favorite, declares candidacy
Former Foreign Minister Seiji Maehara declared his candidacy Tuesday for next week's Democratic Party of Japan presidential election to pick the successor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who meanwhile spent the day bidding a premature farewell to his Cabinet.
JAPAN
Aug 20, 2011
Candidate Kaieda eases on Ozawa
Trade minister Banri Kaieda expressed his intention Friday to run for the Democratic Party of Japan presidency and succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan, and hinted he may lift the suspension on former party leader Ichiro Ozawa, who will soon go on trial.
JAPAN
Aug 16, 2011
Cabinet gives Yasukuni a miss
More than 50 lawmakers of the ruling and opposition parties Monday marked the 66th anniversary of Japan's surrender by visiting Tokyo's contentious Yasukuni Shrine, which honors the nation's war dead as well as Class-A war criminals.
JAPAN
Aug 12, 2011
DPJ shifts focus to Kan successor
As the Lower House passed a crucial bill authorizing bond-issuances Thursday, lawmakers in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan accelerated their hunt for a successor to Prime Minister Naoto Kan, with former Diet affairs chief Shinji Tarutoko the latest name floated in the Nagata-cho political center....
JAPAN
Aug 11, 2011
Deal on bills looks to pave Kan's way out
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's hoped-for exit by month's end got new legs Wednesday, after a Lower House committee OK'd a key bond-issuance bill for passage later in the month and Democratic Party of Japan lawmakers began laying the groundwork for a race to elect a new leader.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2011
Noda delays announcement of bid to replace Kan amid market turmoil
With financial markets in a state of tumult, Finance Minister Yoshihiko Noda decided Tuesday to postpone the anticipated announcement of his candidacy to succeed Prime Minister Naoto Kan as president of the Democratic Party of Japan.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Aug 4, 2011
Lawmaker defends attempt to observe disputed Takeshima isles
Three Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers who were denied entry by South Korea when they tried to visit an island near disputed territory in the Sea of Japan remain undeterred, although their actions ratcheted up diplomatic tension with Seoul.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Aug 2, 2011
New law fails to ease organ demand
A year has passed since the revised Organ Transplant Law took effect in July 2010. Now anyone, even children, can be organ donors if the next of kin consent. The changes have raised the number of donors but many patients are still waiting to receive organs.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2011
¥2 trillion reconstruction bill clears Diet
The Diet enacted Monday a ¥2 trillion second extra budget for fiscal 2011 to finance disaster relief and reconstruction since March 11, one of the three conditions laid down by Prime Minister Naoto Kan for his exit.
JAPAN
Jul 16, 2011
¥2 trillion reconstruction budget submitted; July 22 passage seen
The government Friday submitted its second extra budget for the year, worth ¥2 trillion, to pay for disaster relief and reconstruction after the March 11 quake and tsunami in the Tohoku region.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2011
Sanitary conditions deteriorating in shelters as mercury rises: Hirano
Worsening sanitary conditions and rising temperatures are now the most urgent problems facing thousands of Tohoku evacuees still living in shelters, reconstruction minister Tatsuo Hirano said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jul 14, 2011
Japan must ditch nuclear power: Kan
Japan should gradually become a society that does not have to rely on atomic power, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday amid the continuing nuclear crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant.
JAPAN
Jul 13, 2011
Kan plan set to end nuke goals
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday the administration plans to propose a new energy policy "in the near future" and that the current goal of increasing dependency of nuclear power to 53 percent by 2030 needs to be abandoned.
JAPAN
Jul 9, 2011
Kaieda takes flak, vows to stay on
Industry minister Banri Kaieda denied Friday he intends to resign anytime soon after he said he would "take responsibility" for the administration's flip-flop on whether to fire up idled nuclear reactors.
JAPAN
Jul 7, 2011
Kan under fire in wake of Matsumoto's resignation
Prime Minister Naoto Kan accepted responsibility Wednesday for last week appointing Ryu Matsumoto as reconstruction minister, only to see him resign Tuesday after disparaging the disaster zone he was tasked to mend, but vowed to stay on as leader until his conditions for leaving are met.
JAPAN
Jul 6, 2011
Reconstruction minister quits after week
Ryu Matsumoto resigned Tuesday as reconstruction minister just a week into his stint after he drew flak for insulting two governors in the disaster-hit Tohoku region he was tasked to rebuild, and his exit drove Prime Minister Naoto Kan into a deeper political quagmire.
JAPAN
Jul 5, 2011
Matsumoto rips Tohoku governors
High-handed remarks by newly appointed Tohoku reconstruction minister Ryu Matsumoto rocked the political world Monday, inflaming the opposition and inflicting another headache upon the ailing Cabinet of Prime Minister Naoto Kan.
Japan braces for more quakes as authorities dismiss doomsday hype
Evacuees from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecuture, arrive at Kagoshima Port on Friday.
Hidden AI prompts in academic papers spark concern about research integrity
Waseda University is one of 14 institutions in eight countries found to have used hidden prompts in research papers.
A prophesied disaster (likely) won’t strike Japan this weekend
A viral manga prediction of a July 5 disaster has gripped Japan with anxiety and triggered an economic impact, but experts warn that while such dates are unreliable, the threat of a massive earthquake remains real. 
Residents of Tokara Islands begin evacuation as seismic swarm continues
Details about evacuations from Akuseki Island, located in the Tokara island chain in Kagoshima Prefecture, is seen written on a whiteboard in the city of Kagoshima on Thursday.
U.S. military apologizes over Okinawa sexual assault case
Col. Neil Owens (right), chief of staff for the 3rd Marine Division, bows in apology at the Okinawa Prefectural Government office in Naha on Thursday.
Ghibli’s Isao Takahata exhibit shows how beloved anime is made
“The man who planted Japanese animation” exhibition includes a variety of sketches, drawings and animation cels from Isao Takahata films such as color design for characters by Michiyo Yasuda from "Grave of the Fireflies."
Flag football facing challenges and opportunities ahead
Japan’s women’s flag football team at the 2025 International Bowl in Los Angeles in June. The sport is enjoying continued growth in the country.
From Hokusai’s Great Wave, shinkansen to One Piece: a cultural treasure box for Lego Japan
Michael Ebbesen, general manager of Lego Japan, says Lego bricks based on Japanese culture have a rich global appeal and are sellable around the world.
With farmed fish, RelationFish swims against the tide in fine dining
Chef Hideaki Matsuo (middle) and the staff of Oseto Suisan Fisheries prepare to check on their sustainably farmed fish.
As Southeast Asia heats up, a Japanese cooling giant sees a major opportunity
An employee of Daikin Cambodia explains the use of different tools during an air conditioner installation training session in Phnom Penh. Daikin is one of Japan’s oldest air conditioning companies, but as Japan’s population falls, the firm is keying in on overseas growth.

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