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LIFE / Language / BILINGUAL
Dec 5, 2011

Unknown consequences if Japan joins TPP

Japan couldn't make up its mind, so it was up to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda. On Nov. 13 he made it official: Japan would join multilateral negotiations aimed at forging a free-trading Kan-Taiheiyo Keizai Renkei Kyotei (環太平洋経済連携協定, Trans-Pacific Partnership, TPP).
EDITORIALS
Dec 4, 2011

Five million people

How do you feed, transport and care for 5 million people? The Tokyo Metropolitan Government needs to answer that question after a recent Cabinet Office survey found that more than 5 million people were stranded in the Tokyo metropolitan area after the March 11 earthquake.
JAPAN
Dec 3, 2011

'Nadeshiko' buzzword of year, 3/11 terms next

"Nadeshiko Japan," the nickname of the women's national soccer team, has been awarded a high-profile prize for being the No. 1 buzzword of the year.
CULTURE / Japan Pulse
Dec 1, 2011

Japan's top 10 buzzwords of 2011

The phrases and buzzwords that were on everyone's lips in 2011.
EDITORIALS
Nov 22, 2011

Organization for reconstruction

The Diet deliberations on the third supplementary budget for fiscal 2011 to finance reconstruction from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami and the Fukushima nuclear crisis and related bills are proceeding rather smoothly. But the ruling and opposition forces have a schism over a bill to establish a...
JAPAN
Nov 9, 2011

Meeting with Dalai Lama cools warming ties with China

A recent meeting between the Dalai Lama and Japanese lawmakers — including senior government officials — threatened Tuesday to stymie improving relations with China.
JAPAN
Nov 2, 2011

TPP bandwagons play tunes not all find pleasing to the ear

The question of whether Japan should join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free-trade talks has taken center stage in the Diet as the chasm grows between TPP advocates, mainly on the side of businesses, and opponents, representing long-protected farming and fishing constituencies.
EDITORIALS
Oct 25, 2011

Freedom of information threatened

A government committee headed by Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura on Oct. 7 decided to submit to the Diet in 2012 a bill to mete out severe punishment to people who leak "special secrets" related to diplomacy, national security and public order. The committee says that the purpose of the bill is...
EDITORIALS
Oct 21, 2011

Informed decision needed on TPP

Moves to join the talks for the Transpacific Strategic Economic Partnership (TPP) agreement had been put on hold since the March 11 disasters devastated the Tohoku region. But Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda is now eagerly pushing for progress.
BUSINESS
Oct 13, 2011

Rise in machinery orders bodes well for recovery

Machinery orders rebounded in August on demand for electrical products, signaling that companies are willing to invest even as global economic growth slows and the yen stays near post-World War II highs.
BUSINESS / YEN FOR LIVING
Oct 12, 2011

Politicians hope you don't notice when their pay goes back to normal

The special pay cut for national lawmakers expires this month.
EDITORIALS
Oct 3, 2011

Driving 'safe' through the Diet

The latest extraordinary Diet session, which started after the Cabinet led by Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda was inaugurated, ended on Friday. Mr. Noda put priority on "safe driving" in the Diet — that is, minimizing controversial or problematic statements by him and his Cabinet members when they answer...
COMMUNITY / Voices / HOTLINE TO NAGATACHO
Sep 27, 2011

Words of wisdom from JFK to Japan's new chief

Dear Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda,
EDITORIALS
Sep 21, 2011

Leadership toward compromise

An extraordinary session of the Diet in which Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda gave his first policy speech was first scheduled to end last week but has been extended to Sept. 30. Originally the session was to be only four days, but Japan now faces serious problems: the effects of the March 11 earthquake...
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2011

Noda accepts blame for Hachiro

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Thursday acknowledged his responsibility for appointing Yoshio Hachiro, who stepped down within days of becoming trade minister to atone for a verbal gaffe, and vowed to strive to regain public trust.
COMMENTARY
Sep 16, 2011

New prime minister must restore confidence in politics

Yoshihiko Noda, taking over from Naoto Kan as president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, was elected the 95th prime minister on Aug. 30. He is the 18th prime minister in 25 years and the third since the DPJ came to power two years ago.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2011

Tasks set for Mr. Noda

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in his first policy speech before the Diet on Sept. 13 refrained from talking about eye-catching slogans. Instead he concentrated on listing issues his Cabinet will tackle in earnest — reconstruction from the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, putting the Fukushima nuclear...
JAPAN
Sep 15, 2011

LDP slams Noda over ministers' miscues

Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers grilled Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda in the Diet on Wednesday over recent verbal gaffes by his Cabinet ministers as well as his party's flip-flops on various key policies, and urged him to dissolve the Lower House and call a snap election.
JAPAN
Sep 12, 2011

Incumbent Iwate Gov. Tasso reelected

Incumbent Takuya Tasso was reelected Sunday to a second term as governor of Iwate Prefecture, according to early returns, with the primary focus of voters' attention being on how to move forward with the reconstruction of the region devastated by the March 11 disasters.
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 9, 2011

Furukawa says he's set to tackle high yen

Economic and fiscal policy minister Motohisa Furukawa said Thursday he and other economy-related ministers stand united on tackling the yen's excessive surge, with an eye on both maximizing the merits of a strong currency and helping small and midsize companies suffering from the high exchange rate....
JAPAN / Q&A
Sep 7, 2011

Prestigious school seen as ticket to rise to the top of political ladder

Newly appointed Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda may compare himself to a "dojo" (loach), but in reality he is an elite politician with a diploma from the Matsushita Institute of Government and Management, better known as Matsushita Seikei Juku.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 6, 2011

Law flawed but Noda should return donations: Fujimura

Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Monday that Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda should return any political contributions confirmed to have come from foreigners, who are barred by law from giving donations.

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