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JAPAN
Apr 19, 2008

Officials' rally urges reinstatement of gas surcharge

Diet members, governors, mayors and local assembly members gathered Friday in Tokyo's Chiyoda Ward to call for the reinstatement of the provisionally higher levies on gasoline and auto-related taxes that expired on March 31.
JAPAN
Apr 19, 2008

North to soon be off U.S. blacklist: China envoy

The United States will probably soon remove North Korea from its list of states sponsoring terrorism, visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 19, 2008

Shirakawa: Regions sliding but growth to return eventually

The economy has worsened in eight of the country's nine regions since January as costlier energy and raw materials hurt growth, the Bank of Japan said Friday.
BUSINESS
Apr 17, 2008

Japan blocks TCI from upping J-Power stake

The government on Wednesday rejected a U.K.-based hedge fund's request to raise its stake in Japan's largest electricity wholesaler, citing a potential threat to national security.
JAPAN
Apr 17, 2008

Divided Diet forecloses on Fukuda's May Europe trip

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has canceled planned visits to France, Germany and France in early May due to the expected continuation of the political standoff in the divided Diet, government officials said Wednesday.
EDITORIALS
Apr 12, 2008

Conservatives win again in South Korea

South Korean President Lee Myung Bak got a boost this week from parliamentary elections that gave fellow conservatives a majority in the National Assembly. The results provide a modicum of relief for "the bulldozer" but he is still going to have to struggle to implement his policy agenda. Ironically,...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2008

'Yasukuni' director suspects political meddling

Li Ying, the Chinese director of an award-winning documentary on Yasukuni Shrine, said Thursday he was perplexed to hear that a key figure in the film, sword smith Naoji Kariya, has reportedly asked that his appearance be entirely deleted.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2008

Shirakawa humbled at taking BOJ helm

Voted in as expected Wednesday by the Diet as the 30th Bank of Japan governor, Masaaki Shirakawa was quick to take a middle-of-the-road stance and note that instead of being a professor of monetary policy he is now in the position of setting it.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 10, 2008

Tough call on rate cut awaits new governor

The past three weeks have been something of a roller coaster ride for Masaaki Shirakawa, the former career central banker who was appointed Bank of Japan governor Wednesday by both chambers of the Diet.
BUSINESS
Apr 9, 2008

Merchant sentiment jumps but outlook poor

Though sentiment among merchants rose to a four-month high in March, the gains may not last as they expect conditions to deteriorate in coming months.
Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 8, 2008

Dancing with the devil over 'Yasukuni'

One of the great mysteries of life in Japan is the presence of the ultra-right. Loud, threatening and occasionally lethal, the shaven-headed patriots seem immune to police powers. "Why doesn't someone do something about those guys," is a fairly common response by the first-time foreign visitor. A strong...
BUSINESS
Apr 8, 2008

Shirakawa tipped as BOJ chief; No. 2 iffy

The government nominated Bank of Japan Deputy Gov. Masaaki Shirakawa as BOJ chief Monday and former Finance Ministry bureaucrat Hiroshi Watanabe as deputy governor despite widespread speculation the latter will be rejected by the Democratic Party of Japan.
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 8, 2008

National holidays trace roots to China, ancients, harvests

Golden Week is approaching, covering four national holidays from late April to early May.
Reader Mail
Apr 6, 2008

Are sanctions really working?

The expiration day of the Japanese government's tough sanctions against North Korea is drawing near again. Japan imposed a package of sanctions as punishment for North Korea's nuclear test in October 2006 and has renewed them two times since then. There have been no traces of any North Korean products...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 5, 2008

Back-seat riders to be bound by seat-belt law

Back-seat passengers will have to buckle up just like those up front when a new seat-belt law takes effect on June 1, although penalties will only be handed out for violations on expressways.
EDITORIALS
Apr 3, 2008

New strategy in Pakistan

The new government in Pakistan could bring about important changes in the fight against al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Cabinet of new Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gillani, sworn in Monday, will not give the United States the free hand that it has enjoyed in Pakistan since the months after 9/11.
COMMENTARY
Apr 2, 2008

U.K.'s ongoing EU headache

LONDON — What is a constitution? The question may seem to be a rarefied and abstruse one for lawyers and academics, but just at the moment it lies at the very heart of British politics and strategy.

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