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JAPAN
Apr 13, 2001

Government line contradictory on Lee's visa status

Top government officials showed their indecision Thursday with inconsistent comments over an application for a visa to visit Japan by former Taiwan President Lee Teng-hui.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2001

Quake-readiness achieved by only two prefectures

Only two out of 47 prefectures have completed their earthquake-readiness plans on time, according to a report by the Cabinet Office.
COMMENTARY
Apr 13, 2001

Media guilty of hounding Mori from office

Since political parties by definition seek to attain control of government, it is only natural that the Democratic Party and other opposition groups should have demanded Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's resignation in unison. On the other hand, it is incumbent upon journalists to comment on government policies...
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2001

Four candidates file for LDP presidency

The Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race kicked into gear Thursday as four big names officially filed their candidacies, supported by their policies to lift the economy out of its rut.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2001

LDP rivals trade promises as leadership race heats up

Former health minister Junichiro Koizumi and former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto began shaping their campaign policies Wednesday in the runup to the April 24 Liberal Democratic Party election.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2001

Japan in diplomatic pickle over Lee's visa application

Japan claimed Wednesday that it has not received an application for an entry visa from former Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 2001

Kamei vows to reduce taxes in bid for LDP's leadership

The Liberal Democratic Party's presidential race moved up a gear Tuesday when Shizuka Kamei, the party's policy chief, announced he would run, vowing major tax cuts to sustain the nation's fragile economy.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2001

Koizumi tosses hat into ring as presidential race heats up

The factional jostling within the Liberal Democratic Party heated up Monday as former health minister Junichiro Koizumi announced his plan to run for the April 24 party presidential election.
COMMENTARY
Apr 10, 2001

Reasons to thank Mr. Mori

Since he took office a year ago, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has seen his popularity nosedive as a result of a series of gaffes he committed. Now that he is set to resign in late April, let me review the role the Mori administration has played.
BUSINESS
Apr 4, 2001

LDP ignores advisory panel, endorses watered-down NTT bills

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party endorsed a set of bills Tuesday to rewrite laws governing Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. that would lead to looser-than-planned regulations on the dominant telecom carrier, LDP officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 4, 2001

Strict checks pushed for public firms

Ryutaro Hashimoto, administrative reform minister, repeated Tuesday his determination to conduct a serious and comprehensive review of public corporations, asking government ministries and agencies to refer to a 76-point list of checks to evaluate their performance, government officials said.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2001

Former acting prime minister cleared

Prosecutors have decided not to indict former Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki for allegedly illicitly appointing himself acting prime minister after Keizo Obuchi suffered a stroke last year.
JAPAN
Apr 3, 2001

Mori, LDP's No. 2 to discuss presidential election

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori will meet the No. 2 man of the Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday to decide the timing and formula of the party's presidential election.
EDITORIALS
Apr 2, 2001

Allies need to clear the air

It is one thing -- but no less a bad thing -- for U.S. President George W. Bush to turn his back on pledges to protect the environment that he made during last year's campaign. It is quite another for him to do so in a manner that upsets U.S. allies and undermines his credibility. His abrupt decision...
JAPAN
Apr 2, 2001

Alternatives discussed as LDP fumbles over leader

As Liberal Democratic Party heavyweights continue to search unsuccessfully for a consensus choice to succeed Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, some relatively younger Cabinet ministers from minor factions have been mentioned as possible candidates.
COMMENTARY
Mar 31, 2001

Lack of leaders is destroying the LDP

Earlier this month, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori announced that the date for electing the next president of his ruling Liberal Democratic Party would be moved up. This was tantamount to him expressing his intention to resign.
COMMENTARY
Mar 31, 2001

The power of the camera

NEW DELHI -- For three years as Indian prime minister, the aging Atal Bihari Vajpayee was treated deferentially by the national media and intelligentsia. They portrayed him as a great leader, to whom there was no credible alternative. Even when his physical condition began to slip visibly, no questions...
JAPAN
Mar 31, 2001

24 trillion yen set aside for research from '01

The government said Friday it will invest 24 trillion yen in scientific and technological research from fiscal 2001 to fiscal 2005.
BUSINESS
Mar 31, 2001

FSA nearing completion of writeoff plan for banks' bad loans

Financial Services Agency chief Hakuo Yanagisawa said Friday that the FSA has virtually completed drawing up measures to help Japanese banks accelerate their direct writeoffs of bad loans.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2001

Japan to keep pressing U.S. on global warming

Japan will continue to urge the United States to ratify a 1997 treaty designed to prevent global warming, even though Washington has announced plans to withdraw from the landmark pact, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
EDITORIALS
Mar 30, 2001

Chiba sends a signal to the parties

Vernacular papers report that the governing Liberal Democratic Party will elect its new party president on April 22. The winner of that vote will become prime minister and will then launch his or her Cabinet on the following day. These reports are attributed to multiple -- but all unidentified -- sources...
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2001

Nuclear safety panel urges vigilance

The government's panel on nuclear safety issued a report Tuesday calling for continued efforts to prevent nuclear accidents, noting that the vigilance maintained since Japan's worst nuclear accident in 1999 has prevented another from occurring.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2001

Bureaucracy may face merit pay

Ryutaro Hashimoto, state minister in charge of administrative reform, unveiled a government blueprint Tuesday for overhauling the civil service that would make promotion subject to performance and tighten rules regarding retiring bureaucrats who go to work in the private sector.
JAPAN
Mar 27, 2001

With budget passed, focus turns to Mori

The 82.65 trillion yen fiscal 2001 state budget, featuring a record-high 48.66 trillion yen to fund policies to bolster the economy, was enacted Monday evening.

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