Search - cabinet

 
 
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2006

Abe will mend Asian fences, Shiozaki says

Holding summits and mending strained ties with China and South Korea are Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's priorities, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuhisa Shiozaki said Wednesday as the new Cabinet got down to their first day of work.
BUSINESS
Sep 21, 2006

Markets await word on key economic positions

Financial markets are wondering who will occupy the key economic posts in the new government of Liberal Democratic Party President Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, who is all but assured of becoming the new prime minister next week.
BUSINESS
Sep 16, 2006

Government says deflation still not beaten

The government on Friday stopped short of declaring the death of deflation in its September economic report, but dropped the dreaded word for the first time since April 2001.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2006

Decision on further North Korea sanctions may come Tuesday

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe suggested Friday the Cabinet may decide to impose financial sanctions against North Korea next Tuesday under a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning Pyongyang's July missile launches.
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2006

April-June GDP growth revised upward to 1.0%

The economy grew an annualized real 1.0 percent in the April-June period from the previous quarter, revised upward from a preliminary 0.8 percent rise, the government said Monday, underscoring the sustained recovery led by domestic demand.
BUSINESS
Sep 12, 2006

July machinery orders fall record 16.7%

Core private-sector machinery orders plunged a seasonally adjusted 16.7 percent in July from the previous month, their biggest fall in 19 years, the government said Monday, but it downplayed the decline as a reaction to a surge in June.
COMMENTARY
Sep 4, 2006

Declining sources of pride

The 9/11 terrorist attacks five years ago added a new page to world history, posing a new threat to global security. Following the attacks, the Bush administration in the United States demanded that the international community choose between democracy and dictatorship, between good and evil. Calling...
LIFE / WEEK 3
Sep 3, 2006

An 'outsider' speaks out

Later this month, when Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi concludes what may have been Japan's most flamboyant premiership ever, pundits aplenty are sure to lavish his five-year term with glowing praise.
EDITORIALS
Aug 24, 2006

Plenty of room for other ideas

Foreign Minister Taro Aso became the second person to announce his candidacy for the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election next month, following Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki. Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe, the front-runner in the race, is expected to throw his hat into the ring Sept....
EDITORIALS
Jul 29, 2006

No time to be shy

The Sept. 20 Liberal Democratic Party presidential campaign heated up Thursday when Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki became the first LDP lawmaker to officially declare his candidacy. Mr. Tanigaki's entry promises to deepen discussion of tax and other policy issues following former Chief Cabinet Secretary...
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 28, 2006

Tanigaki throws hat into ring

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki on Thursday became the first Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker to officially declare his candidacy for the Sept. 20 LDP presidential election, pledging that if he becomes the next prime minister, he will not visit Yasukuni Shrine.
BUSINESS
Jul 19, 2006

Deflation's end seen; BOJ urged to be prudent

The government said in its annual report on the economy Tuesday that the end of deflation is in sight and pressured the Bank of Japan to carry out future interest rate rises in a wise manner.
BUSINESS
Jul 11, 2006

Machinery orders slip but less than forecast

Core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 2.1 percent in May from the previous month to 1.12 trillion yen, following a sharp 10.8 percent jump in April, the government said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 22, 2006

A disappointing Diet session

The 164th regular Diet session -- the last Diet session for Mr. Junichiro Koizumi as prime minister -- has ended without fanfare. The session was tasked with making an overall review of his reforms, achieved or unachieved, since he took the reins of power in April 2001. But lawmakers have failed to fulfill...
BUSINESS
Jun 10, 2006

Core machinery orders jumped 10.8% in April

Core private-sector machinery orders in April soared a seasonally adjusted 10.8 percent over the previous month to 1.140 trillion yen, the highest since August 2000, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
May 30, 2006

Base realignment cost estimate pared

The realignment of U.S. forces will cost Japan 1.1 trillion yen over the next eight to 10 years, on top of the roughly 700 billion yen the government has agreed to contribute to cost of transferring U.S. Marines from Okinawa to Guam, according to a new estimate revealed by official sources.
EDITORIALS
May 24, 2006

To thwart self-destruction

Iraq's national unity government finally was inaugurated Saturday after the Parliament approved a list of 36 men and women appointed to the Cabinet of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki. The government is the first constitutionally based one since President Saddam Hussein's was toppled in 2003. With the...
COMMENTARY / COUNTERPOINT
May 14, 2006

Beware the muted enemy within remilitarizing Japan

On April 30, the Asahi Shimbun reported on the results of a Cabinet Office survey of public opinion regarding the Self-Defense Forces (SDF). The telephone survey was conducted between Feb. 16 and 26, with 1,657 of the 3,000 people contacted replying. Overall, 84.9 percent of respondents indicated they...
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2006

Abe ahead for top job but Fukuda gains ground

A majority of respondents to a recent Kyodo News survey say they want Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe to replace Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi when the ruling Liberal Democratic Party elects a new leader in September.
BUSINESS
Apr 11, 2006

Core machinery orders rebound after January dip

Core private-sector machinery orders climbed a seasonally adjusted 3.4 percent in February from the previous month to 1.1 trillion yen, following a 6.2 percent fall in January, the government announced Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2006

Machinery orders suffer first drop in four months

Japan's core private-sector machinery orders fell a seasonally adjusted 6.2 percent in January from the previous month to 1.059 trillion yen, the first fall in four months, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2006

Panel proposes ODA committee, enlarging JICA's role

A government advisory panel proposed Tuesday that a new strategic committee for foreign assistance be set up and the Japan International Cooperation Agency's functions be expanded.
EDITORIALS
Feb 24, 2006

Putting the squeeze on Hamas

For Hamas, the radical Islamic group, winning an election may prove to be the easiest part of the political process. Having claimed an outright majority in last month's Palestinian parliamentary elections, the party is now trying to assemble a Cabinet. That task, difficult at the best of times, has been...
COMMENTARY
Feb 6, 2006

Containing a growing divide

The growing economic gap in Japanese society under Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform policy is emerging as a major national political issue. Critics in the opposition camp as well as the ruling coalition charge that deregulation and intensified competition have divided society into winners and...
COMMENTARY
Jan 24, 2006

Homestretch for Koizumi

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's structural reform initiative for a "small and efficient government" enters a crucial stage this year, since his term as president of the Liberal Democratic Party (and hence as prime minister) will expire in September.
JAPAN
Jan 17, 2006

Yen drop kicks Japan out of top 10 in per capita GDP

Japan's per capita nominal gross domestic product was $35,922 in 2004, making it drop out of the top 10 among members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, according to a government report.

Longform

Koichi Tagawa’s diary entry from Aug. 9, 1945, describes the day of the atomic bombing of Nagasaki.
The horrors of Nagasaki, in first person