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COMMENTARY
Jul 31, 2001

Making decentralization work

In a recent report, a state panel urged the central government to transfer more tax-collection power to local governments and help them secure their own tax revenues. I have no objections to the proposal, made by the Decentralization Promotion Committee in its final report to Prime Minister Junichiro...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 30, 2001

Luring investment to Japan

Japan is a risk for the world economy. Although Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's reform plans are vague and offer no guarantee of results, Japan, and the world as well, depend on the success of the reforms for their prosperity.
COMMENTARY
Jul 27, 2001

Budget test for sacred cows

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's "structural reforms with no sacred cows" received a boost from the G7 economic summit in Genoa, Italy.
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 26, 2001

Legalization: The drug war's best weapon

LONDON -- In Spain, Italy, Portugal, and Switzerland it is practically impossible to get arrested for buying or using "soft drugs." In the Netherlands, users may buy up to five grams of cannabis or hashish for private use at 1,500 licensed "coffee shops," and they are opening two drive-through outlets...
EDITORIALS
Jul 20, 2001

Cloistered ways breed corruption

The Foreign Ministry is embroiled in another fraud scandal. Earlier this week police arrested two ministry bureaucrats on charges of receiving illegal refunds from a limousine company during last year's G8 summit in Kyushu and Okinawa. Investigators say most of the money — which was obtained through...
COMMENTARY / World
Jul 16, 2001

Can Japan's 'pied piper' pull it off?

In July 2001, two very different people offer hope to the people of Japan. One is baseball player Ichiro Suzuki, the star of the Seattle Mariners. His cool looks and great hits suggest the possibilities of the sporting dream across the sea. The other is Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, with his wavy...
JAPAN / Media / MEDIA MIX
Jul 15, 2001

A spoonful of Koizumi helps the medicine go down

The continuance of Junichiro Koizumi's administration beyond the summer seems like a sure bet: Support for his Cabinet is over 80 percent, his e-mail magazine is being read by hundreds of thousands of subscribers, and every time the opposition questions one of his pronouncements, they are deluged with...
COMMENTARY
Jul 1, 2001

Tanaka should think twice before speaking

Calm does not seem to prevail in the words and deeds attributed to Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka. She caused a considerable controversy when she expressed the view that Japan should join hands with European countries to persuade the United States not to go ahead with the missile-defense initiative....
JAPAN
Jun 30, 2001

Missile shield to top Japan, U.S. talks

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Friday he will discuss the U.S. missile shield plan in depth when he meets with President George W. Bush this weekend.
BUSINESS
Jun 30, 2001

Jobless figure returns to record 4.9%

Japan's employment situation worsened further in May as the jobless rate matched a record-high 4.9 percent, up 0.1 percentage point from the previous month, the government said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 29, 2001

Masuzoe asked to run on LDP ticket

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi officially asked political scientist Yoichi Masuzoe on Thursday to run for the House of Councilors in July as one of the Liberal Democratic Party's proportional representation candidates.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 29, 2001

Musharraf feathers military's power nest

NEW DELHI -- Everybody had expected Pakistan's chief executive, Pervez Musharraf, to appoint himself president. When that happened on June 20, most of the world -- barring the United States, which made a big noise -- accepted Musharraf's new title without batting an eyelid.
BUSINESS
Jun 29, 2001

Industrial output down for third straight month

Industrial output for May fell 1.2 percent from the previous month to mark the third consecutive month of decline, according to a preliminary report released Thursday by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
JAPAN
Jun 28, 2001

No revisions expected after text review concludes in July

An ongoing diplomatic row with South Korea and China over some history textbooks could enter a new phase next month.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Businesses expect upturn next quarter

Major businesses are expecting business conditions to improve in the July-September quarter, according to a government survey released Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Jun 28, 2001

Report says Osaka firms need stronger green policies

OSAKA -- Osaka firms are making progress in introducing environmentally friendly policies but need to do more, especially in helping smaller firms meet international standards, according to a white paper on the Osaka economy released Wednesday.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2001

Tanaka-Suzuki spat delays treaties

Makiko Tanaka's ugly spat with LDP colleague Muneo Suzuki went international Tuesday as the ratification of three diplomatic treaties was delayed until the next Diet session due to a lack of deliberation time.
JAPAN
Jun 27, 2001

Green drive may boost economy

More efficient use of resources and better waste policies could boost the economy as well as reaping manifold environmental benefits, according to an inaugural white paper on waste-reduction approved by the Cabinet on Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2001

Will LDP groundswell extend beyond Tokyo?

Despite the Liberal Democratic Party's resounding victory in Sunday's Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly election, experts said it remains unclear whether the groundswell will mean very much in the Upper House election next month.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2001

Japan to cohost tourism summit as industry lags

Japan will cohost the 14th World Tourism Organization general assembly with South Korea this fall, at which it will look for ways to revive its own sluggish tourism industry.
COMMENTARY
Jun 25, 2001

Another blast from Mr. Bix

To more than 80 percent of Japanese voters, Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi looks like a populist reformer. But to the American winner of the 2001 Pulitzer Prize for non-fiction, Koizumi is a "rightwing nationalist."
JAPAN
Jun 25, 2001

Tanaka to shake up Foreign Ministry after G8 summit

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka is planning a major reshuffle of senior ministry personnel — including the ministry's top bureaucrat — after the July 20-22 Group of Eight summit in Genoa, Italy, ministry sources said.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2001

Tanaka fails in bid to limit rival's question time

Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka threw the Lower House Committee on Foreign Affairs into turmoil Friday after requesting that scheduled questions by Muneo Suzuki, a rival politician within her Liberal Democratic Party, be limited.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2001

State panel to review support for A-bomb survivors

Health minister Chikara Sakaguchi said Friday he plans to set up a panel of legal, health and welfare experts to consider revising the law on support for survivors of the 1945 atomic bombings.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2001

Task force OKs overhaul of 157 public corporations

A state task force on Friday approved a plan calling for the thorough review of 157 government-affiliated corporations in an attempt to save 1 trillion yen in government expenditures.
JAPAN
Jun 23, 2001

Report urges capture of insulator CFCs

A system is urgently needed to prevent ozone-depleting gases contained in insulation material being released into the atmosphere, the Environment Ministry said Friday.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Koizumi's reform blueprint promises pain before gain

A key panel headed by Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday unveiled a sweeping reform program aimed at fixing the bad debt-crippled economy in two to three years.
JAPAN
Jun 22, 2001

Public firms approach day of reckoning

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may be on the verge of opening a Pandora's box in his drive to pursue government reforms.

Longform

Growing families are being priced out of Tokyo’s condo market, forced to choose between downtown convenience and suburban space.
Is living in central Tokyo still affordable?