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JAPAN
Aug 6, 2011

Next nuclear watchdog needs teeth: Hosono

Goshi Hosono, state minister in charge of preventing further atomic power plant accidents, revealed Friday a proposal to fold nuclear-related functions now scattered among different ministries into a new authority.
EDITORIALS
Jul 16, 2011

Cutting the nuclear cord

Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday that he would like to turn Japan into a society that does not have to rely on nuclear power through a planned, stage-by-stage reduction of this reliance. His statement clearly points to a phasing out nuclear power over a long period — a great change in Japan's...
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
Jun 30, 2011

Tax panel execs to negotiate sales levy hike timing with government

Members of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's tax panel on Wednesday authorized panel executives to negotiate with the government the timing of a consumption tax hike, paving the way for Prime Minister Naoto Kan's tax reform plan to be approved as early as Thursday.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 29, 2011

Kan keeps foes on edge over resignation timetable

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's announcement Monday that he would step down after the second extra budget and two key bills are passed may, at a glance, appear as though he finally clarified when he is leaving.
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 1, 2011

It is time to target who calls the shots in Japan when disaster strikes

Why did it take so long for any Japanese Cabinet ministers to make their presence felt on the site of the crippled Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant — and what does this tell us about the decision-making process in Japan?
COMMUNITY / Our Lives / CLOSE-UP
May 1, 2011

Atsuko Muraki: Fighter for justice

Atsuko Muraki was thrown into the public spotlight in 2009, when she was head of the Equal Employment, Children and Families Bureau at the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry.
JAPAN / History / JAPAN TIMES GONE BY
Apr 17, 2011

Yoshiwara fire, war and foreign ministers start weekly meetings, intellectuals on dope, Japan offers to help at Chernobyl

100 YEARS AGOTuesday, April 11, 1911
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 30, 2011

Japan's crisis leadership

Amid the horrifying news from Japan, the establishment of new standards of political leadership there is easy to miss — in part because the Japanese media follow old habits of automatically criticizing how officials are dealing with the calamity, and many foreign reporters who lack perspective simply...
COMMENTARY / World
Mar 14, 2011

Yudhoyono's shaky coalition drifts along

SINGAPORE — It has been common in recent years to praise Indonesia as Southeast Asia's primary democratic success story. Vital achievements include a successful campaign against Islamist terrorism and the end to three decades of futile military oppression of Aceh province.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Feb 15, 2011

Kan short on budget, leadership options

Prime Minister Naoto Kan is expected to face mounting calls to resign or call a snap election in order to get the fiscal 2011 budget bills passed on time, experts say.
EDITORIALS
Jan 26, 2011

Mr. Kan sets his agenda

Prime Minister Naoto Kan, in his policy speech before the Diet on Monday, expressed his determination to carry out unified reform of the social security and the tax system, which would include raising the consumption tax, and "opening the nation" in the 21st century through large-scale trade liberalization....
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2011

Mr. Kan begins Diet hurdles

The Diet opens its ordinary session today. The results will greatly influence the fate of Prime Minister Naoto Kan and his Cabinet. By his recent Cabinet reshuffle, Mr. Kan has made it clear that he will give priority to unified reform of the tax system — which would include a consumption tax hike...
JAPAN
Jan 22, 2011

Government budget woes grow worse

An official prediction released Friday points to harder fiscal challenges ahead, with the combined primary budget balance deficit of the central and local governments predicted to grow to ¥23.2 trillion in fiscal 2020, ¥1.5 trillion more than was estimated in June.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Jan 22, 2011

Edano: Hike sales tax after the next election

The consumption tax should be raised after the next general election, which must be held before summer 2013, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yukio Edano suggested Thursday.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami