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Japan Times
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Apr 1, 2008

'Half-alien' group foresees disaster, Japan UFO landing

In December, Chief Cabinet Secretary Nobutaka Machimura caused quite a stir with his bold statement that "UFOs definitely exist." In subsequent clarifications, the government claimed that there have been no confirmed sightings, but if a UFO was to appear, "fighter jets would be scrambled to attempt...
BUSINESS
Apr 1, 2008

Rising wages may not help slowing economy

Wages rose for a second month in February, a boost to consumers just as a recovery in the economy is pausing.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2008

Fukuda offers to untie road tax income in '09

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda hoped to break the Diet deadlock by declaring Thursday he is willing to allow revenue from road-related taxes to be freed up for purposes other than road projects in fiscal 2009, which starts in April next year.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2008

Green plan eyes fewer disposables

Japan will urge people to carry their own chopsticks instead of using disposables and to shop with their own bags instead of using plastic ones in a bid to more than halve the garbage it produces.
EDITORIALS
Mar 26, 2008

Japan's new ocean policy

The Cabinet has adopted a basic ocean policy program based on the Basic Law of the Sea, which went into effect in July 2007. Lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party, Komeito and the Democratic Party of Japan jointly wrote the law, which was enacted in April 2007, to properly develop marine resources...
BUSINESS
Mar 26, 2008

DPJ to block gas tax bill; pump price looks to fall

Car owners can expect a break at the pump in the near future if the Democratic Party of Japan makes good on its threat to block a government-backed bill to extend higher rates on road-related taxes that expire March 31.
JAPAN
Mar 26, 2008

Permanent law on SDF overseas dispatch in the works: Fukuda

Looking to avoid another round of Diet wrangling over the dispatch of the Self-Defense Forces, Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday that the government will draft permanent legislation during the current Diet session allowing for the dispatch of the SDF overseas for multinational operations.
EDITORIALS
Mar 25, 2008

Respect for public documents

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda has had Population and Gender Equality Issues Minister Yoko Kamikawa double as state minister in charge of improving the custodianship of official documents. In a related move, a nine-member government panel has started discussing rules on proper maintenance of such documents....
BUSINESS
Mar 25, 2008

Big business confidence at all-time low

Business confidence among large Japanese companies fell to a record low in the January-March quarter, reflecting surges in crude oil and other raw materials prices as well as heightened uncertainty surrounding the global economy, a government poll showed Monday.
COMMENTARY
Mar 20, 2008

Brace for the Arctic oil rush

LONDON — For decades the world's major oil companies and their engineering experts have been eyeing the Arctic region and wondering how to get at the oil and gas deposits that are said to lie, in almost legendary quantities, beneath the vast expanses of ice. With the price of crude oil now well above...
JAPAN
Mar 20, 2008

Fukuda's coalition finds itself trapped

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda is stuck.
JAPAN
Mar 19, 2008

DPJ set to snub latest pick for BOJ chief

The Democratic Party of Japan said Tuesday evening that it will reject the government's latest nominee to replace Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui, virtually ensuring the post of central bank chief will go unfilled when Fukui's five-year term ends Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Mar 18, 2008

Dollar plummets to near 13-year low against yen

The dollar nosedived below ¥96.00 Monday for the first time in nearly 13 years as fears of a U.S. financial industry meltdown persist amid America's festering subprime mortgage loan crisis.
EDITORIALS
Mar 15, 2008

Mr. Abdullah is battered

Malaysia's ruling coalition was stunned in elections last weekend. Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his National Front (Barisan Nasional) lost the two-thirds majority in Parliament that they have held for nearly four decades. As the government tries to regroup, Malaysia appears headed toward...
JAPAN
Mar 14, 2008

Chamber again votes for Muto as row festers

The Lower House on Thursday approved the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc government's nomination of Toshiro Muto as new Bank of Japan governor, resulting in a split decision after the opposition-controlled upper chamber rejected him just a day earlier.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2008

Upper House rejects Muto

The Bank of Japan is a week away from a vacuum at the top as the opposition-controlled Upper House on Wednesday voted down the government's bid to replace BOJ Gov. Toshihiko Fukui with his deputy of five years, Toshiro Muto.
JAPAN
Mar 11, 2008

Fukuda firm: Muto is the 'best' choice for BOJ governor

Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda said Monday he has no intention of proposing another candidate as governor of the Bank of Japan, even though the opposition camp is mulling whether to reject his original nomination of Toshiro Muto.
BUSINESS
Mar 11, 2008

Merchant confidence stayed low in February

Japanese merchant sentiments held near a six-year low in February as soaring oil and food prices sapped consumer spending power, the government said Monday.
BUSINESS
Mar 8, 2008

Muto nominated as BOJ chief; DPJ unsure

With Bank of Japan Gov. Toshihiko Fukui's term expiring in 11 days, the government and ruling bloc on Friday finally nominated one of his deputies, Toshiro Muto, to replace him at the central bank.

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