Search - cabinet

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 13, 2001

Kajiyama left behind 400 million yen estate

Former Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama, who died last June at age 74, left behind about 400 million yen in taxable assets.
BUSINESS
Jun 13, 2001

Low growth is the price of reforms

Japan will have to endure low economic growth over the next two to three years as the nation undergoes radical reforms, a key government economic panel said in the draft of a reform blueprint to be released later this month.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2001

Discord in the Foreign Ministry

The Foreign Ministry has been mired in an internal struggle between Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka and senior ministry bureaucrats. The faceoff shows no signs of ending, although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has issued a warning to both Mrs. Tanaka and Vice Foreign Minister Yutaka Kawashima. Mrs....
JAPAN
Jun 12, 2001

Recession looms as GDP shrinks 0.2%

Japan's economy shrank during the last three months of fiscal 2000, according to government data released Monday, confirming fears that the world's second-largest economy is on the brink of another recession.
BUSINESS
Jun 12, 2001

Economists expect further deterioration

Private-sector economists said Monday the economy will probably shrink further during the current business year, falling short of the government's macroeconomic target of 1.7 percent growth.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 2001

Koizumi's reform foes entrenched

With Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi firing off a barrage of reform proposals aimed at turning the ailing economy around, his foes, including fellow Liberal Democratic Party lawmakers and bureaucrats keen to protect vested interests, are drawing battle lines.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2001

Tanaka threatens legal action

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Thursday she is considering taking legal action against bureaucrats in her ministry who she claims have leaked remarks she reportedly made about the U.S. missile defense program.
JAPAN
Jun 7, 2001

Tanaka's reported faux pas concern U.S., Yanai says

WASHINGTON — The U.S. has expressed strong concern over the confusion surrounding reports that Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka has raised doubts about missile defense and the Japan-U.S. alliance, the Japanese ambassador to the U.S. said Tuesday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 6, 2001

Will Koizumi play his trump card?

The idea of holding simultaneous elections for both Diet Houses persists among "not a few" Liberal Democrats. There is more than one reason for this. Despite the unprecedented popularity of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and his Cabinet, his Liberal Democratic Party does not enjoy equally high approval...
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2001

Falling land prices lure crowds back to Tokyo

Falling land prices in central Tokyo's Chiyoda, Chuo and Minato wards encouraged more people to live in the heart of the capital this year, the land ministry said in a report released Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 2001

Nonperforming ODA must be reviewed, Tanaka says

Japan needs to review the effectiveness of the aid it extends to developing countries and cut unnecessary official development assistance, Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2001

Advisory panel starts discussing postal privatization

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi launched an advisory panel Monday to discuss the privatization of postal services.
JAPAN
Jun 5, 2001

Tanaka knocked Bush, missile plan in talks with Australian diplomat, Fukuda says

Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Monday that Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka criticized U.S. plans for a National Missile Defense system when she met with her Australian counterpart last week.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2001

The brass tacks of reform

Over the past month or more, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi has told the nation time and again that he is determined to fight forces opposed to change. Now he is coming to the point where he must show he means what he says. The immediate challenge is to flesh out his vision of "structural reform with...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 2001

Minister backs program to triple bar exam passers

Justice Minister Mayumi Moriyama said Sunday she will back a plan to triple by 2010 the number of people who pass the National Bar Examination, becoming candidates for positions as judges, prosecutors and lawyers.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2001

Can Koizumi turn popularity into power?

Looking at Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's popularity and its spillover effect on the Liberal Democratic Party, one has to be impressed. Recent highly popular actions, such as the prime minister's decision not to challenge a court decision awarding compensation to leprosy victims, only add to the...
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 3, 2001

Wellington reaches out to Asia

The first country to give the vote to women, New Zealand presently has the distinction of having all three top public posts occupied by women: the governor general, the prime minister and the chief justice. This provides a clue as to why at times Wellington has played a role and exercised an influence...
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2001

Korean wins state medical payout

OSAKA — The Osaka District Court ordered the Osaka Prefectural Government on Friday to pay a Korean survivor of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima medical allowances that it had stopped paying after the man returned home from Japan.
BUSINESS
Jun 2, 2001

Reform blueprint supports Koizumi's avowed projects

A government panel has approved the basic framework of draft guidelines on economic and fiscal policies that center on Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform initiatives, including comprehensive reform of the national budget.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 2001

Tanaka aired worry on U.S. missile plan

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka unofficially voiced concern over U.S. missile defense plans in a series of recent diplomatic talks with her counterparts from Italy, Germany and Australia, Japanese government sources said Friday.
EDITORIALS
Jun 1, 2001

Nagging doubts about nuclear energy

In a landmark referendum on Japan's nuclear-fuel recycling program, held last Sunday in Kariwa, Niigata Prefecture, a majority of village residents voted against a Tokyo Electric Power Co. project to use plutonium as reactor fuel at its nuclear-power plant there. The so-called pluthermal program, which...
BUSINESS
Jun 1, 2001

Investors shun directionless Tokyo market

The idle Tokyo stock market could spend weeks searching for direction amid concerns over corporate earnings and economic prospects.
JAPAN
Jun 1, 2001

Koizumi urges adoption of 'e-voting' in local polls

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi urged a government information technology panel Thursday to consider ways to introduce electronic voting in local elections, officials said.
BUSINESS
May 31, 2001

IMF chief urges expanded disclosure of bad loans

International Monetary Fund chief Horst Koehler encouraged the Financial Services Agency on Wednesday to step up disclosure of its assessments of banks' problem loans.
BUSINESS
May 30, 2001

Fate of Nikkei tied to Koizumi's policies

Although the stock market has reacted positively to the inauguration of the reformist Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, doubts linger.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Environment Ministry plugs green tax in first white paper

In its inaugural white paper approved Tuesday by the Cabinet, the Environment Ministry is touting the merits of introducing an environment tax to help put Japan on a more environmentally sustainable path and reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
JAPAN
May 30, 2001

Koizumi to meet Bush June 30 at Camp David

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and U.S. President George W. Bush will hold their first summit on June 30 at Camp David, Md., Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda announced Tuesday.

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