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JAPAN
Apr 12, 2012

Opposition grills Noda over tax reform details

Social security and tax reform plans were the main issues of contention Wednesday as opposition party leaders grilled Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda during a one-on-one Diet debate.
EDITORIALS
Mar 13, 2012

Put the political maneuvering aside

The Lower House on Thursday passed the ¥90.333 trillion fiscal 2012 budget with the support of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan and its coalition partner, the People's New Party. But Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda cannot be optimistic about upcoming Diet business and must overcome several hurdles....
JAPAN
Mar 5, 2012

Noda makes international pitch for tax hike plan

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Saturday that his government "cannot sidestep" a controversial tax hike that has turned into the leader's highest priority and largest potential stumbling block.
EDITORIALS
Dec 2, 2011

Mr. Noda in the firing line

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda on Wednesday held his first debate in the Diet with Liberal Democratic Party leader Sadakazu Tanigaki and with Komeito leader Natsuo Yamaguchi. Although the LDP and Komeito had cooperated with the Democratic Party of Japan in passing the third supplementary budget for fiscal...
JAPAN
Jun 3, 2011

Kan offers exit, beats no-confidence vote

Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence motion Thursday after suddenly announcing his intention to resign once disaster-hit Tohoku is back on its feet and the crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 power plant is safely under control.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2011

Tohoku disaster buys Kan time

It was only two weeks ago that Prime Minister Naoto Kan seemed on the verge of stepping down — his foreign minister, Seiji Maehara, had resigned, his popularity was at a historic low and a divided Diet had given him little hope of passing bills needed to enact the 2011 budget.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2011

Maehara's departure no boon to finances

Prime Minister Naoto Kan's struggle to fund the nation's budget and avoid an early election suffered another setback when his foreign minister quit Sunday over illegal donations and a poll showed fewer than one voter in four supports him, and a stock slide heightened the sense of unease.
JAPAN
Feb 24, 2011

Government shutdown in June?

As battles rage in the Diet between the ruling and opposition camps over fiscal 2011 budget-related bills, one dreadful scenario has emerged: The debt-ridden government may run out of funds by around June.
JAPAN
Jan 25, 2011

Opposition sees red over Yosano

Prime Minister Naoto Kan kicked off the year by sacking his right-hand man, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshito Sengoku, and appointing a one-time critic of him in Kaoru Yosano to the Cabinet, reaching out to the opposition to gain support for the fiscal 2011 budget.
JAPAN
Jan 20, 2011

Key ministers meet to weigh tax hike

Key Cabinet ministers agreed Wednesday to map out comprehensive proposals on social welfare and tax reforms, with an eye to hiking the sales levy, by June as they met for the first time to explore ways to cope with the problems of a rapidly aging society and mounting government debt.
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2011

Kan heaps more coals on Ozawa fire

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa should decide his own course of action, Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Tuesday, indicating the DPJ don should consider resigning from both the ruling party and the Diet when he is indicted over his political money scandal.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2010

New center provides day care for Diet mothers

On a sunny September day, a nurse held a 3-month-old baby while another fed a hungry 7-month-old. Outside, two boys played in a sandbox in a spacious yard, where in the summer a wading pool will be set up so the children can splash about.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2010

LDP's Koike, Ishihara get top posts

The Liberal Democratic Party installed new executives Thursday, introducing a fresh lineup to help LDP President Sadakazu Tanigaki prepare for the fall Diet session.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2009

Mrs. Aquino: An icon passes on

She was an unlikely revolutionary. A member not of one but two of the Philippines' most powerful families, Mrs. Corazon Aquino nonetheless led the popular revolt against President Ferdinand Marcos, sweeping him from office and setting an example for "people power" movements around the world ever since....
JAPAN
Jul 22, 2009

Nakasone blasts DPJ's 'irresponsible' foreign policy

Foreign Minister Hirofumi Nakasone on Tuesday slammed the Democratic Party of Japan's foreign policies for "being irresponsible" and "lacking specifics."
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2009

Antipiracy, gift tax bills enacted

The ruling bloc rammed three key bills through the Lower House Friday, including a permanent antipiracy law that lets the Maritime Self-Defense Force protect ships of any nationality and have greater latitude in the use of force, and a relaxed gift tax so parents can give their offspring funds to buy...
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2009

Gingerly start to the new year

Japan greets the new year with political stagnation and dysfunction inherited from 2008. The stifling atmosphere nationwide is due not only to deepening economic difficulties caused by the global financial crisis that started in the United States but also to the failure of Prime Minister Taro Aso's administration...
JAPAN
Dec 21, 2008

Budget won't spark growth, experts warn

The fiscal 2009 draft budget unveiled Saturday isn't likely to help Japan recover because the recession will probably accelerate the ongoing decline in tax revenues, economists warn.
JAPAN
Nov 29, 2008

Ozawa showdown low-key as gaffe-prone Aso keeps comments to himself

Outspoken Prime Minister Taro Aso may have finally learned his lesson Friday about holding his tongue.
JAPAN
Nov 28, 2008

Diet extended for key bills as DPJ relents

The government and the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc officially ordered an extension to the current extraordinary Diet session until Dec. 25 to secure passage of two key bills.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Oct 2, 2008

MSDF mission above Diet politics: Hamada

Japan's involvement in antiterrorism efforts in the Indian Ocean must continue regardless of which party holds power in the Diet, new Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said in an interview.
JAPAN
Sep 20, 2008

Antiterror bill endorsed but future unclear

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda and his Cabinet on Friday endorsed an extension of the special law on antiterrorism to keep the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean going.
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Feb 3, 2008

'Pimp' my road — For bureaucrats, it's business as usual

It's that time of year again, when the highways and byways of Japan are suddenly filled with construction crews tearing up asphalt for repair and maintenance work. That's because the annual budgets of the crews' public-sector employers must be used up before the end of the fiscal year in March, regardless...
JAPAN
Jan 5, 2008

Fukuda: No midmonth reshuffling of Cabinet

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda dismissed speculation Friday that he would reshuffle his Cabinet before the Diet opens later this month to shore up his poor public approval ratings.
BUSINESS
Sep 26, 2007

Fukuda team built for reform but short of time

Analysts shrugged off any speculation Tuesday that Yasuo Fukuda's election as prime minister will have a major impact on the stock market because his Cabinet's economic policies are likely to be virtually the same as his predecessor's.

Longform

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