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EDITORIALS
Sep 1, 2010

Second half of the Lee presidency

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak, who passed the halfway point of his five-year term on Aug. 25, hoped to bolster his political foundation with the start of a new Cabinet to be headed by a man who would be the first prime minister in his 40s (47) in 39 years. But his hope was shattered Sunday when...
BUSINESS
Aug 12, 2010

Machinery orders rise anemic 1.6%

Machinery orders rose less than forecast in June, a sign that companies may be holding off on spending as the export-led recovery cools.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2010

Privacy law may face new scrutiny

The government may look into revising the Personal Information Protection Law if some of its provisions are stopping municipalities from ascertaining the status of "missing" centenarians and other pension recipients, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku hinted Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Jul 30, 2010

Mr. Kan and the DPJ under watch

The Kan administration and the Democratic Party of Japan, which was beaten in the July 11 Upper House election, will be on the defensive during an extraordinary Diet session from Friday. Opposition forces, which now have 132 seats against the ruling coalition's 110 seats, control the Upper House in the...
JAPAN
Jul 28, 2010

Tsujimoto quits SDP, says party has lost its way

OSAKA — Lower House member Kiyomi Tsujimoto resigned Tuesday from the Social Democratic Party over the SDP's exit from the ruling bloc amid the Futenma base row and after its poor showing in the July 11 Upper House election.
JAPAN
Jul 15, 2010

Kokumin Shinto woos SDP

Social Democratic Party leader Mizuho Fukushima confirmed Wednesday that Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), the ruling Democratic Party of Japan's minor coalition partner, has approached the SDP in a bid to form a new parliamentary group.
JAPAN
Jul 10, 2010

Sengoku sees last-minute resurgence for DPJ at polls

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku on Friday downplayed media projections of a defeat for the ruling Democratic Party of Japan in Sunday's Upper House election, saying his party still has 48 hours to regain voter support.
JAPAN / DECISION 2010
Jul 6, 2010

Campaigning in Tokyo heats up

With beads of sweat pouring down his forehead, veteran Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker Toshio Ogawa addressed a small crowd in Tokyo late last month, begging for their support in the Upper House election.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 30, 2010

Canberra's bloodless coup

SYDNEY — Women rule. Or so it seems in Australia where the first female prime minister has ousted a male colleague, where a woman is the governor general, still another runs the main state, New South Wales, and another presides over that state's capital city, Sydney. Topping all, an Australian woman...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2010

Quiet end to a vexed tenure

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama returned to his office Wednesday minutes after announcing his resignation and was greeted by hoards of reporters expecting a comment from the once-popular leader.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Jun 3, 2010

DPJ poll worries to persist

Back when it was still in the opposition camp, the Democratic Party of Japan used to criticize the then ruling Liberal Democratic Party for its frequent shuffling of prime ministers, without an election.
COMMUNITY / Issues / JUST BE CAUSE
Jun 1, 2010

Futenma is undermining Japanese democracy

Times are tough for the Hatoyama Cabinet. It's had to backtrack on several campaign promises. Its approval ratings have plummeted to around 20 percent. And that old bone of contention — what to do about American military bases on Japanese soil — has resurfaced again.
JAPAN
May 31, 2010

SDP decides to bolt from ruling coalition

The Social Democratic Party said Sunday it will leave the tripartite ruling coalition after its leader, Mizuho Fukushima, was kicked out of the Cabinet last week for opposing its decision to keep a contentious U.S. military base in Okinawa Prefecture.
EDITORIALS
May 17, 2010

Diet session in home stretch

Only a month remains before the current Diet session ends (June 16). Although the Diet passed the fiscal 2010 budget March 24 in the fifth-fastest time of the postwar era, deliberations on other important bills have stalled.
COMMENTARY
Apr 29, 2010

Media vultures circle P.M.

In Brazil they tell the story of the small-town TV crime reporter who gained fame and scoops by arranging crimes himself. He could then rush out and interview the victims well before rivals. But eventually his scoops caught up with him and he ended up in jail.
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Apr 27, 2010

Hatoyama, credibility of Japan is at stake

Dear Prime Minister Hatoyama,
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Apr 11, 2010

New party a boon to DPJ, thorn in divided LDP's side

Saturday's launch of marginal political party Tachiagare Nippon (The Sunrise Party of Japan) by former members of the Liberal Democratic Party has only accelerated the main opposition's downward spiral as lawmakers gear up for an Upper House election in July.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2010

Wakabayashi exits Diet due to illicit votes

Former farm minister Masatoshi Wakabayashi resigned from the Diet Friday after coming under fire for manipulating a parliamentary vote earlier in the week.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2010

New Komeito cozying up to DPJ?

With budget allocations having cleared the Diet earlier this week, passage of the child allowance bill Friday was a stroll in the park for the Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition.

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