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JAPAN
Mar 23, 2012

Foes to sales tax hike in DPJ impede bill

The administration and the Democratic Party of Japan failed again Thursday to form a consensus among party members on the contentious consumption tax hike, postponing until next week a planned Cabinet meeting to formalize the bill.
BUSINESS
Mar 20, 2012

Copper producers eye boost in exports

Japan's copper producers may increase exports in the coming years to make up for shrinking domestic demand as manufacturers head overseas to avoid higher costs and the impact on sales of a stronger yen, according to Pan Pacific Copper Co.
BUSINESS
Mar 14, 2012

BOJ to beef up loan supply for prospective growth sectors

The Bank of Japan said Tuesday it will maintain its zero interest rate policy while enhancing its loan scheme for prospective growth industries to ¥5.5 trillion, up from ¥3.5 trillion.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / SOUTH KOREAN JOURNALIST SYMPOSIUM
Mar 9, 2012

Deeper cooperation urged for key East Asian powers to sustain growth

China, with its increasingly assertive diplomacy and rapid military buildup, is a common security threat for Japan and South Korea, but the two countries also need to work with China as a partner in East Asia's economic growth, veteran journalists from South Korea said in a recent symposium in Tokyo....
COMMENTARY
Mar 3, 2012

How to push reform forward

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda has stated he would stake his political life on realizing integrated reform of the tax and social security systems. Japan's financial structure is worse than those of other advanced countries and even that of Greece, which was responsible for the euro crisis. Therefore it...
EDITORIALS
Feb 25, 2012

Support for child-rearing families

Actualization panel has proposed a new set of support measures for children and child-rearing families. A main pillar of the proposal is to create a new type of preschool facility by integrating the two existing types of preschools: yochi-en (kindergartens), which are for the education of preschoolers,...
EDITORIALS
Feb 23, 2012

Relief over another Greek deal

Greece and the European Union have reached another deal. A second bailout will avert a Greek bankruptcy, although the reprieve is likely to be only temporary. The harsh austerity measures that the EU is demanding as a condition of its aid, ironically, are likely to make it even harder for Athens to reach...
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 22, 2012

A 'stewpid' time to raise VAT

The International Monetary Fund has joined Japan's Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and leading politicians and bureaucrats in laying down a remorseless softening up barrage of facts, figures, argument and just plain determination that the country's consumption tax should rise as quickly as possible.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Feb 21, 2012

S&P affirms AA- rating, says downgrade likely

Standard and Poor's on Monday affirmed Japan's sovereign-debt rating at AA- while maintaining a negative outlook and warning that a downgrade is likely if medium-term growth prospects weaken.
BUSINESS / ANALYSIS
Feb 18, 2012

Fiscal ills not DPJ's doing but it's holding the bag

The tax and social security reform outline adopted by the Cabinet on Friday indicate the government has run out of options and must finally address welfare costs and public finances that have been spiralling out of control for years.

Longform

A small shrine perched atop rocks braves the waves hitting the shoreline during a storm in Shimoda, Shizuoka Prefecture. The area is under threat of a possible 31-meter-high tsunami if an earthquake strikes the nearby Nankai Trough.
If the 'Big One' hits, this city could face a 31-meter-high tsunami