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JAPAN
Jul 13, 2005

Mail to be a privatized priority?

If the postal reform bills clear the House of Councilors by the Aug. 13 end of the current Diet session, the privatization process will begin in April 2007 and end 10 years later.
EDITORIALS
Jul 6, 2005

A bittersweet victory for Mr. Koizumi

With the Lower House's passage of the postal privatization bills Tuesday, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi overcame an important hurdle in pushing the "centerpiece" of his reform agenda. The victory was bittersweet for Mr. Koizumi, however, as many members of his Liberal Democratic Party -- including...
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2005

Cabinet OKs postal reform package amid chaos in LDP

The Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi finalized a package of postal privatization bills Wednesday night after executives of his Liberal Democratic Party rammed the bills through a series of internal meetings.
JAPAN
Apr 26, 2005

Postal reform plan is watered down but moves forward

The government Monday accepted a set of demands from top executives of the Liberal Democratic Party to further water down Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious postal privatization plan.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2005

Postal issue keeps LDP at loggerheads

The Liberal Democratic Party continued late Monday night trying to put together a set of requests for modifying the government's plan to privatize postal services by 2017 by splitting Japan Post into four units.
BUSINESS
Apr 6, 2005

Postal reforms get nod only from LDP execs

Liberal Democratic Party executives reacted positively Tuesday to the government's postal privatization scheme unveiled the previous day, while rank-and-file members continued to voice opposition.
EDITORIALS
Apr 5, 2005

Bitter medicine to build trust

Political parties are bracing for a new round of joint parliamentary panel talks on social security reform. The biggest issue is how to integrate disparate and unequal parts of the public pension system. Prospects for final agreement look uncertain at best, given the wide differences that exist between...
BUSINESS
Mar 24, 2005

BioCarbon Fund gets new buyer

Sumitomo Chemical Co. said Wednesday it will invest $2.5 million in the World Bank's BioCarbon Fund by 2017 to obtain some 400,000 carbon credits, which count against greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
Nov 8, 2004

Japan Post, China to top the agenda in EU talks

Senior officials from Japan and the European Union will hold a series of talks in Tokyo this week focusing on the privatization of Japan's postal services, China's economy, the progress in Japan's bad-loan problem and the impact of EU expansion on bilateral relations.
COMMENTARY / World
Oct 2, 2004

Toward ASEAN integration

SINGAPORE -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations has begun a more promising phase of its integrative process in the face of three formidable challenges:
Japan Times
BUSINESS / CABINET INTERVIEW
Sep 29, 2004

Takenaka vows to get LDP members on board for Japan Post privatization

Heizo Takenaka, just named to the brand-new post of minister of postal reform, said Tuesday he will "keep talking" to Liberal Democratic Party politicians until he wins their support for privatization.
EDITORIALS
Sep 28, 2004

Reform-oriented shuffle

Just as he indicated he would do before Monday's Cabinet reshuffle, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi filled major party-executive posts and Cabinet posts with politicians loyal to his postal-reform policy. Prior to the naming of the new Cabinet lineup, Mr. Koizumi appointed Mr. Tsutomu Takebe, a former...
BUSINESS
Sep 9, 2004

LDP lawmakers pledge to block postal reform

Dozens of lawmakers of the Liberal Democratic Party announced Wednesday they will try to block legislation aimed at privatizing Japan Post, despite the Cabinet's plan to approve a bill to this end on Friday.
BUSINESS / Q&A
Sep 9, 2004

Why is Japan Post going to be privatized?

After months of government debate, the Cabinet on Friday will formally approve a plan to privatize the government-run Japan Post.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2004

Sides still at loggerheads over proposed four-way postal privatization split

Several ruling coalition politicians and Cabinet ministers remained at odds Monday over whether to split Japan Post into four firms in 2007, the first year of the planned 10-year privatization process, officials said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Sep 3, 2004

Economist advocates Japan Post carve-up

The priority in privatizing Japan's gigantic postal system is to quickly split its financial and postal service operations despite strong opposition, according to high-profile economist Hiroshi Kato.
BUSINESS
Aug 25, 2004

Koizumi blasts postal reform foes

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed strong dissatisfaction Tuesday over continued opposition within his Liberal Democratic Party to privatizing postal services, saying it's "a done deal."
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2004

Delay possible in full postal privatization: Takenaka

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka indicated Sunday he understands the need for a possible delay in dividing postal services into several entities.
JAPAN
Aug 23, 2004

Delay possible in full postal privatization: Takenaka

Economic and fiscal policy minister Heizo Takenaka indicated Sunday he understands the need for a possible delay in dividing postal services into several entities.
JAPAN
Aug 15, 2004

Privatized Japan Post to be watched over by three agencies

Units of a privatized Japan Post are expected to come under the jurisdiction of three separate government agencies to ensure equal competition with the private sector, government sources said Saturday.
JAPAN
Jul 17, 2004

Pension bills littered with errors

The government acknowledged Friday that pension reform legislation enacted by the Diet last month contained as many as 40 technical flaws, and reprimanded bureaucrats in connection with the fiasco.
JAPAN / ELECTION '04
Jul 3, 2004

Pension issue strikes chord with voters

It's always tough to draw the attention of apathetic voters when stumping.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 23, 2004

Smarting from pension snafu, LDP has modest poll hopes

The Liberal Democratic Party must "humbly accept" the harsh public outrage over its recent forced passage of contentious pension reform bills as it strives to retain its strength in the July 11 House of Councilors election, the LDP secretary general said.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2004

New Komeito to emphasize noncombat SDF role in Iraq

With campaigning for the July 11 House of Councilors election officially starting Thursday, New Komeito leader Takenori Kanzaki says his party has to get the message out that the Self-Defense Forces will stick to humanitarian activities even after joining a U.S.-led multinational force in Iraq.
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2004

Put pension reform above politics

The ruling parties early Saturday morning rammed much-maligned pension bills through the House of Councilors. However, their resorting to physical violence at a committee session and a tricky procedure at a plenary session badly tarnished the House of Councilors as the "chamber of common sense." The...
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Parties use pension scandal to score points

Is the exposure of an incessant stream of politicians who have not paid their pension premiums the result of a crusade to regain public trust in the pension system, a hysterical witch hunt or merely a political power struggle ahead of a key election?
JAPAN
May 19, 2004

Parties use pension scandal to score points

Is the exposure of an incessant stream of politicians who have not paid their pension premiums the result of a crusade to regain public trust in the pension system, a hysterical witch hunt or merely a political power struggle ahead of a key election?
BUSINESS
May 15, 2004

Social security costs to rise 1.8-fold by '25, hit 152 trillion yen

Japan's social security costs, including pensions, medical treatment and nursing care, are expected to reach 152 trillion yen in fiscal 2025, a 1.8-fold rise from current levels but down from earlier projections, the welfare ministry said Friday.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past