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JAPAN
Jun 22, 2003

832 to run in Lower House election

More than 830 candidates are preparing to run in the next House of Representatives election, although both the both ruling and opposition camps are still trying to sort out arrangements for electoral alliances, according to a Kyodo News survey released Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 11, 2003

Obituary: Tetsuji Kubo

House of Representatives member Tetsuji Kubo died Tuesday of liver failure at a Tokyo hospital, his family and the New Komeito party said. He was 56.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2003

Obituary: Hidefumi Minorikawa

Hidefumi Minorikawa, a House of Representatives member of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, died Thursday of liver failure at a hospital in Omagari, Akita Prefecture, his family said. He was 67.
JAPAN
Jan 14, 2003

Campaign cooperation elusive for DPJ, Liberals

The Democratic Party of Japan and the Liberal Party remain at odds over how they might pursue campaign cooperation in the next general election of the Lower House, as speculation continues to grow that it will be held sometime this year.
JAPAN
Dec 31, 2001

LDP eyes way around electoral reform

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party may decide not to field candidates in some Lower House constituencies and instead support members of its two coalition partners at these electoral districts, senior LDP sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Sep 26, 2001

Koso resigns in wake of election scandal

Kenji Koso of the Liberal Democratic Party tendered his resignation from the Diet on Tuesday in the wake of a vote-canvassing scandal involving several top postal officials.
JAPAN
Aug 9, 2001

145 arrested over election violations

A total of 145 people have been arrested for suspected election law violations in connection with the July 29 House of Councilors poll, the National Police Agency said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2001

Missile shield to top Japan, U.S. talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday he will discuss the U.S. missile shield plan in depth when he meets with President George W. Bush this weekend.
JAPAN
Jan 24, 2001

Nukaga resigns from Cabinet; former EPA head Aso steps in

Fukushiro Nukaga resigned Tuesday morning as minister for economic and fiscal policy over allegations that he received 15 million yen from the mutual aid organization KSD in return for favors.
JAPAN
Oct 27, 2000

Ruling bloc turns deaf ear to other options

Passage of a controversial electoral reform bill Thursday has provided another example of the ruling coalition's increasing use of force that opposition lawmakers describe as as tyrannous.
JAPAN
Oct 24, 2000

Lower House panel debates poll reform

A House of Representatives committee began deliberations Monday on a controversial electoral reform bill that was the center of an 18-day opposition Diet boycott.
JAPAN
Oct 21, 2000

Opposition ends boycott to pursue scandals in Diet

Opposition lawmakers returned to Diet deliberations Friday, ending a nearly three-week boycott after the House of Councilors passed a controversial bill to revise the electoral system the previous day.
JAPAN
Oct 17, 2000

Diet turmoil continues over election system bill

Confrontation between the ruling and opposition camps continued at the Diet on Monday, with a mediation proposal offered by the president of the House of Councilors earlier in the day snubbed by both sides.
COMMENTARY
Oct 6, 2000

Stymied by electoral reform

Confusion reigns in the current extraordinary Diet session, with the opposition forces boycotting debate to protest the ruling bloc's forcible move to revise the Upper House election system.
JAPAN
Oct 4, 2000

Obituary: Toshisada Oka

Toshisada Oka, a member of the House of Councilors who once served as parliamentary vice minister at the Science and Technology Agency, died Monday of liver failure at Tokyo Teishin Hospital, his family said. He was 66.
JAPAN
Oct 3, 2000

Opposition boycotts election reform panel

An Upper House special electoral reform committee got off to a rough start Monday as opposition lawmakers boycotted the first meeting to protest the ruling bloc's forcible move to revise the chamber's election roster system.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2000

Mori, Kuze still disagree over money given to Daikyo

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori continued to differ Monday with former Financial Reconstruction Commission chief Kimitaka Kuze over the use of 100 million yen provided by condominium developer Daikyo Inc.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2000

Candidates slide in despite weak support

Nearly 60 percent of the 300 winners in single-seat constituencies in Sunday's House of Representatives general election were endorsed by less than 30 percent of the voters in their electoral districts, analyses of the results show.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 28, 2000

Coalition holds on to power

The Liberal Democratic Party had dubbed Sunday's election a "battle in mourning," in hopes that the untimely death of former Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi would get out the "sympathy vote." As it turned out, the LDP and its coalition partners suffered a major set- back, contrary to the wishes of Prime...
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000

Ruling coalition secures majority

The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling triumvirate suffered a major setback but secured a majority in the Lower House in the general election held Sunday.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000

Name isn't everything

The results of Sunday's general election indicated that while candidates from "traditional" political families did well, some legislators whose names were relatively well-known were unable to return to the Lower House.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2000

Unaffiliated voters outnumber LDP supporters for the first time

Unaffiliated voters for the first time made up the largest group of Kyodo News pollees in a survey taken ahead of Sunday's general election.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 20, 2000

New rules, old political games

Japanese go to the polls June 25 in the nation's second general election that combines single-seat constituencies and proportional representation.
JAPAN
Jun 14, 2000

Ballots from abroad begin arriving

The government began accepting ballots Tuesday for the June 25 Lower House election from Japanese living abroad or aboard ships — the first time overseas voting has been permitted for a national election.
JAPAN
May 10, 2000

Bad parents to be denied access to their kids

The Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday endorsed a government-proposed draft of a bill that calls for restricting the rights of parents who abuse their children to see or talk with them.
COMMENTARY
Apr 28, 2000

Ichiro Ozawa now isolated

The recent change of government in Japan, resulting from Yoshiro Mori's replacement of the ailing Keizo Obuchi as prime minister, was accompanied by another important development: the end of a conflict between the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's Secretary General Hiromu Nonaka and Liberal Party leader...
COMMENTARY
Feb 10, 2000

Democracy under attack

When I first read that the Japanese coalition government had decided to force through a bill to reduce the number of seats elected by proportional representation, my first thought was, since they had a majority of votes in both Houses for this measure and as democracy generally implies majority rules,...
JAPAN
Feb 2, 2000

Analysis: Obstinacy may backfire on both sides

The ruling coalition on Wednesday dug its heels in even deeper as a political battle for public sentiment with the opposition camp took another turn.
JAPAN
Jan 28, 2000

Obuchi calls for creation of level, not vertical, society

In a speech before a Diet devoid of opposition members, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi called Friday for the creation of a nation in which individuals are not submerged in society but showcase their abilities and help invigorate the country. The opposition decided to boycott the session to protest the...

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