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BUSINESS
Jul 1, 2010

Tax hike policy due by March

The government wants to hammer out by the end of March its stance on raising the 5 percent consumption tax, newly appointed National Policy Unit minister Satoshi Arai said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2010

India nuke tieup OK'd

TORONTO (Kyodo) Japan and India agreed Sunday to cooperate further in the civilian use of nuclear power when Prime Minister Naoto Kan and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh met on the sidelines of a two-day Group of 20 summit in Toronto, Japanese officials said.
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2010

Plan for gender equality

The government's Council for Gender Equality is scheduled to submit by the end of this month a proposal for the third basic plan to build a gender-equal society. Two such plans have been written on the basis of the Basic Law for a Gender-Equal Society, which went into effect in 1999. The draft for the...
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2010

Global warming fight fizzles

In December, delegates from 193 countries took part in the 15th United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP15) in Copenhagen in an attempt to form an agreement on how to combat global warming beyond 2012, when the Kyoto Protocol expires.
JAPAN / DECISION 2010
Jun 24, 2010

Parties focus on economy, taxes

With the campaign officially kicking off for the July 11 Upper House election, political parties are weighing in on rebuilding the economy and government finances, hoping their platforms will translate into votes.
EDITORIALS
Jun 23, 2010

Strategic details of growth

A chieving "a strong economy" is one of Prime Minister Naoto Kan's three major policy goals, along with "strong finances" and "strong social welfare." To realize his idea, his Cabinet on June 18 announced a new economic growth strategy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2010

G20 faces test as major players retrench

BRUSSELS — Two Group of 20 meetings this month — first in Busan, South Korea, for finance ministers, and next in Toronto for heads of government, mark the moment when the major players in the world economy shift gear from budgetary stimulus to retrenchment. Not everyone agrees.
BUSINESS
Jun 22, 2010

As China wages, yuan rise, exporting to get costly

Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. suppliers sacrificed earnings in China by raising wages to end strikes, and Beijing's decision to allow greater exchange-rate flexibility may slow plans to export vehicles from the nation as the currency appreciates.
COMMENTARY
Jun 21, 2010

Indonesia moving to reduce forest loss, warming emissions

SINGAPORE — Recent developments in curbing high levels of forest loss around the world, particularly in the tropics, are promising. They are significant because deforestation, including the clearing of trees from peat swamps in Southeast Asia, is the biggest source of global warming emissions from...
EDITORIALS
Jun 21, 2010

Parties circle consumption tax

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the No. 1 opposition Liberal Democratic Party have announced their manifestos for the July 11 Upper House election. Noteworthy is the DPJ's mention of the possibility of raising the consumption tax as a way to rebuild state finances.
BUSINESS
Jun 19, 2010

Growth plan goals: Jobs, no deflation

The government unveiled an economic growth strategy Friday for the next decade, aiming to eliminate deflation by the end of fiscal 2011, create ¥123 trillion worth of demand and 5 million jobs in four specific fields, as well as lower corporate taxes.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010

Rundown of DPJ pledges

The Democratic Party of Japan is promising to
JAPAN
Jun 18, 2010

DPJ, LDP platforms test tax hike waters

The ruling Democratic Party of Japan and the opposition camp unofficially began campaigning Thursday for the July 11 Upper House election, by releasing their platforms, and both sides seemed to be dancing around a tax hike.
JAPAN / PROMOTING TOURISM FROM CHINA
Jun 17, 2010

Tourism revs up for China boom

With the government easing the criteria for granting individual travel visas to Chinese next month, Japan is gearing up to lure more tourists from the Middle Kingdom and make international tourism a pillar that can prop up the anemic economy.
BUSINESS
Jun 17, 2010

Kan may need ¥7 trillion tax hike

Prime Minister Naoto Kan may have to raise taxes by as much as ¥7 trillion to fulfill his pledge to cap bond sales in coming years, according to an independent adviser to the government.
EDITORIALS
Jun 14, 2010

Vision for competing

As the Japanese economy suffers from sluggish domestic demand amid stubborn deflation and the graying of the population, and as Japanese companies are challenged by Chinese and South Korean firms in overseas markets, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Industrial Structure Council has unveiled...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 10, 2010

Can Kan revive Japan?

HONG KONG — Naoto Kan, Japan's new prime minister, pledged to make the country's sickly economy his first priority and to pull Japan from its "quagmire of an ever- bulging debt." But that is easier said than done. It is not merely a question of when to stop the government stimulus and where to put...
EDITORIALS
Jun 8, 2010

Keidanren's to-do list

Mr. Hiromasa Yonekura, chairman of Sumitomo Chemical Co., on May 25 became the top leader of the Japan Business Federation (Nippon Keidanren), Japan's most influential business lobby. He assumes the post at a time when the Japanese economy is suffering from deflation, high unemployment, a low birth rate...

Longform

Mount Fuji is considered one of Japan's most iconic symbols and is a major draw for tourists. It's still a mountain, though, and potential hikers need to properly prepare for any climb.
What it takes to save lives on Mount Fuji