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JAPAN / Politics
Aug 6, 2006

Aso to propose putting Yasukuni under control of the government

Foreign Minister Taro Aso plans to urge Yasukuni Shrine to surrender its religious status and be placed under effective government control in a bid to improve icy diplomatic relations with China and South Korea, according to an outline of his plan obtained Saturday.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2006

Change set for Iraq deployment

The Cabinet said Friday it will revise the basic plan for deployment of the Self-Defense Forces to Iraq following the recent withdrawal of troops from the country.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2006

75% worry about crimes against kids: poll

Three out of four respondents to a government survey said they were worried about crimes against children, the Cabinet Office said Thursday.
JAPAN
Aug 5, 2006

Hashimoto funeral to be Tuesday

About 200 people, including former South Korean President Kim Young Sam and official representatives from 19 countries, will attend the Tuesday funeral of former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, Foreign Ministry officials said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Aug 5, 2006

Pursue cautious defense policy

This year's government white paper on defense touches on North Korea's missile tests, closer security cooperation between Japan and the United States, and proposals to upgrade the Defense Agency to ministry status and expand the Self-Defense Forces' overseas activities, among other things.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2006

Obituary: Masao Nishimura

Former Industrial Bank of Japan President Masao Nishimura, one of the architects of the Mizuho megabank group, died of heart failure Tuesday at a Tokyo hospital, his family has announced. He was 73.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2006

Japan lauds UNSC resolution on Iran

Japan on Tuesday welcomed a U.N. Security Council resolution calling on Tehran to suspend all uranium enrichment-related and reprocessing activities by Aug. 31 and showed determination not to compromise on its stance against nuclear proliferation because of its economic stake in Iran.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2006

Paper hits North's missiles, China buildup

nuclear (arms) issue, are a destabilizing factor for the entire international community," the report reads. "The range of North Korean missiles is expected to be extended (farther), including possible derivatives of Taepodong-2 missiles," the paper, released Tuesday, says in reference to Pyongyang's...
BUSINESS
Aug 2, 2006

U.S. beef terms stand: Nakagawa

Farm minister Shoichi Nakagawa indicated Tuesday that Japan will not accept a request from the United States to meet in the fall to discuss easing its restrictions on U.S. beef imports.
BUSINESS
Aug 1, 2006

Japan Post drafts 10-year plan

Japan Post Corp. submitted to the government on Monday outlines of its 10-year postal privatization road map that includes plans for its savings bank to provide loans to individuals and for its life insurance firm to offer health and casualty insurance policies.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 31, 2006

War criminal's kin urges next leader shun Yasukuni

A grandson of former Foreign Minister Shigenori Togo, who was convicted as a Class-A war criminal after World War II, says Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's successors should refrain from visiting Yasukuni Shrine.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2006

Tanigaki talks up sales tax doubling

The 5 percent consumption should be hiked to 10 percent "in two stages," with the first raise coming in April 2009, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki suggested Friday.
JAPAN
Jul 29, 2006

Nukaga mulls candidacy, faction factor

Defense Agency Director General Fukushiro Nukaga is considering running in the Sept. 20 election for the Liberal Democratic Party presidency, a post that likely carries with it the prime ministership, sources said Friday.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 29, 2006

LDP hopefuls kick off debates

Both declared and undeclared candidates for the Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election began making their cases for prime minister Friday in a high-profile panel discussion viewed as a prelude to the Sept. 20 poll.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2006

TBS probed on Abe shot in show

The government is investigating a TV program by Tokyo Broadcasting System Inc. on the wartime Japanese germ warfare unit because it includes footage in which a photo of Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe appears in the background, in a storeroom, officials said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 27, 2006

Koizumi unveils Africa medical research award

The government has formally announced an award named after scientist Hideyo Noguchi to honor medical researchers and personnel working for Africa, with the first presentation scheduled for 2008.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 26, 2006

Tanigaki suggests Yasukuni should separate war criminals

Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki suggested Tuesday the 14 Class-A war criminals enshrined in Yasukuni Shrine should be separated from the war dead honored there, but he also said the shrine must decide this matter.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2006

Abe defends Japan's denial of entry to North Korean group

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe on Tuesday defended Japan's rejection of requests by five North Koreans to enter the country, saying the action was appropriate in view of stricter regulations imposed following Pyongyang's July 5 missile launches.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Jul 24, 2006

Cutting corporate taxes best course for Japan

The government's 2006 basic policy on economic and fiscal management and structural reforms, approved by the Cabinet on July 7, established two national pillars of economic policy for the coming decade -- the pursuit of growth in a shrinking population, and the rebuilding of state finances to reinforce...
COMMENTARY
Jul 23, 2006

Downhill path from fear to proliferation

Why have some of Japan's leaders been talking about the need to acquire the ability to attack North Korean missiles on the launchpads? It's because they know that the United States, despite its overwhelming air and maritime power, cannot credibly threaten North Korea. That is because North Korea holds...
EDITORIALS
Jul 22, 2006

Funding scandal shakes ivory tower

It came as a shock last year when former Seoul National University professor Hwang Woo Suk's claims that he had created stem cells by cloning human embryos turned out to be fraudulent. A recent case at Waseda University in Tokyo is no less surprising, although it mainly concerns the irregular use of...
BUSINESS
Jul 22, 2006

47 trillion yen core '07 budget cap OK'd

The Cabinet on Friday approved a 46.8 trillion yen cap on core policy-related outlays in the fiscal 2007 budget, down from 47.5 trillion yen in the fiscal 2006 budget request guidelines and the lowest level in nine years.
JAPAN
Jul 21, 2006

Hirohito visits to Yasukuni stopped over war criminals

Emperor Hirohito expressed strong displeasure in 1988 over Yasukuni Shrine's decision in the late 1970s to include Class-A war criminals on the list of people honored there, sources said Thursday, citing a memorandum by a former Imperial Household Agency official.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Defense expert set to head academy

A former member of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's advisory body on security issues will be the next president of the National Defense Academy, government sources said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jul 20, 2006

Abe set to launch nationwide swing to appeal to public

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe will begin a series of visits across Japan next week to discuss measures to provide a second chance to people whose businesses or careers have failed, although the exercise is largely being as a precampaign ahead of the Liberal Democratic Party presidential election...
BUSINESS
Jul 20, 2006

2007 budget gets 47 trillion yen general spending cap

The government plans to limit fiscal 2007 general expenditures to about 46.8 trillion yen, down from 47.5 trillion yen in the fiscal 2006 budget request guidelines and marking the lowest level in nine years, Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Wednesday.

Longform

Visitors walk past Sou Fujimoto's Grand Ring, which has been recognized as the largest wooden structure in the world.
Can a World Expo still matter? Japan is about to find out.