Search - cabinet

 
 
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1997

Hanshin quake relief bill left for next Diet session

One of two legislative proposals to provide governmental assistance to survivors of the January 1995 Great Hanshin Earthquake and other natural disasters will be carried over to the next Diet session for further debate, according to Diet officials.
JAPAN
Jun 18, 1997

Ruling alliance emerges from Diet session intact

One-hundred fifty days, some 100 laws and 16 treaties later, the ruling partnership is still intact, at least on the surface.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Analysis: Health system reform falls short

With the Diet's approval of a revision to the Health Insurance Law, many observers are frustrated with the less-than-anticipated results of well over half a year of heated and repeated discussions.
JAPAN
Jun 16, 1997

Diet legislates independent financial watchdog

The Diet passed a bill June 16 to create a state agency independent of the Finance Ministry for supervising the nation's financial institutions.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

LDP panel delays Ex-Im merger with JDB

A task force within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party has decided to further delay until at least the end of this month a final decision on whether to merge the Export-Import Bank of Japan and the Japan Development Bank due to strong resistance from concerned parties, party sources said June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 13, 1997

Land Agency warns Tokyo about overpopulation problem

Overpopulation is hindering the Tokyo area from protecting itself from natural disasters and is causing other serious problems, a National Land Agency report warned June 13.
JAPAN
Jun 9, 1997

Hashimoto to visit U.N., EU after Denver summit

Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto will leave Tokyo on June 19 to attend the annual summit of the Group of Seven major industrialized nations in Denver and to meet with European leaders in Europe, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama announced June 9.
JAPAN
Jun 6, 1997

LDP plans Pentagon visit for security guideline review

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on June 9 will call on its two non-Cabinet allies -- the Social Democratic Party and New Party Sakigake -- to form a delegation to visit the U.S. to discuss security-related matters with officials of the Pentagon, LDP policy chief Taku Yamasaki told reporters June...
JAPAN
Jun 4, 1997

Nonprofit groups step closer to corporate status

A bill giving corporate status to volunteer and other citizens groups and recognizing them as official nonprofit organizations is expected to clear the Lower House Committee on the Cabinet June 5.
JAPAN
Jun 3, 1997

Experts say lack of reform vision a drag confidence

The fiscal reform package approved June 3 by the Cabinet is expected to save the nation a substantial amount of money, but whether it will bring real change to Japan's fiscal structure is highly debatable.
JAPAN
Jun 2, 1997

Ruling parties make last-minute spending cuts

The Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies came up with several budget-paring measures June 2, one day before a key fiscal reform report is due out.
JAPAN
May 30, 1997

Flex-time urged for clerical officials

General government clerical officials should have a flex-time system, according to an annual report submitted May 30 by the National Personnel Authority to the Diet and Cabinet. The flex-time system is currently limited to government officials in research posts.
JAPAN
May 29, 1997

Lower House approves bill to create finance watchdog

A government-proposed bill to create a new state agency to supervise financial institutions cleared the Lower House on May 29 with support from the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, its two non-Cabinet allies and other small parliamentary groups.
JAPAN
May 20, 1997

Many voices join in battle over 'comfort woman'

Nationwide debate over "comfort women" will probably not end soon. Did wartime Japanese authorities really abduct Korean women for sex slavery, and is it the key question? Should school textbooks cover the issue and should Japan alone be mentioned regarding such practices?
JAPAN
May 16, 1997

Aoki makes official exit from post

Ambassador o Peru Morihisa Aoki officially resigned May 16, taking responsibility for the hostage crisis at his official residence in Lima, Foreign Ministry officials said.
JAPAN
May 15, 1997

Japan finalizes plans for sweeping reform

The government on May 15 finalized a detailed program to revamp the nation's economic structure and maintain a leading position in the global market in the coming century.
JAPAN
May 15, 1997

LDP won't endorse bill for separate surnames

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party will not join its allies in compiling a controversial bill to allow spouses to have different surnames, amid lingering opposition within the party, LDP officials confirmed May 15.
JAPAN
May 14, 1997

U.S. military's land leases expire; nothing happens

Although leases for land plots at 11 U.S. military bases expired at midnight May 14, a relevant law that was revised last month will enable the central government to continue providing the land to the U.S. forces.
JAPAN
May 12, 1997

50 million yen in relief aid headed to Iran

The government will provide Iran with relief aid worth 50 million yen to help the Middle East country cope with the major earthquake that killed at least 2,400 people, the government's top spokesman said May 12.
JAPAN
May 12, 1997

SDF may be used for war on terrorism

Relaxing legal restraints on the Self-Defense Forces may be necessary to enable the government to better combat terrorism overseas, Chief Cabinet Secretary Seiroku Kajiyama said May 12.
JAPAN
May 8, 1997

Health insurance reform passed by Lower House

A bill that would more than double medical costs for the public starting Sept. 1 cleared the Lower House on May 8 with the support of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party and its two non-Cabinet allies.
JAPAN
May 6, 1997

Coalition allies reach agreement on health insurance reform

The Liberal Democratic Party scored a political victory May 6 when it reached an agreement with its two non-Cabinet allies on a bill that would at least double medical bills, starting Sept. 1.
JAPAN
May 6, 1997

Politician joins activists in landing on Senkaku Islands

An opposition lawmaker and three other activists landed early May 6 on one of the Senkaku Islands, which are claimed by Japan, China and Taiwan, Maritime Safety Agency officials said.
JAPAN
May 2, 1997

U.S.-Japan defense review sparks debate on Constitution

The areas of defense and security are the key modern-day controversies revolving around the Constitution, which took effect 50 years ago May 3.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 1997

Disclosure for disposal of arms left in China urged

The government must make public information on how it will dismantle poison gas weapons abandoned in China at the end of the war, a citizens' group holding exhibitions on Japan's wartime development and use of poison gas demanded April 28.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 1997

Panel backs longer time for public works plan

The government needs to extend its 10-year plan for 630 trillion yen in spending on public works projects instead of trimming the amount, members of the Conference on Fiscal Structural Reform agreed April 21, according to government officials.
JAPAN
Apr 16, 1997

Interviews to set reform blueprint

An administrative reform panel decided April 16 to interview representatives from each government ministry and agency on the possibility of integrating some organizations and entrusting some ministerial tasks to independent agencies or private firms. The interviews will start next month.
JAPAN
Apr 15, 1997

Tokyo halts high-level talks with Iran

Japan will suspend high-level dialogue with Iran "for the time being" but has no immediate plan to recall its ambassador to Tehran, Foreign Minister Yukihiko Ikeda said April 15.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 1997

Mitsuzuka says Japan ready to halt yen's plunge

Finance Minister Hiroshi Mitsuzuka repeated Friday his intent to take timely action against the yen's excessive weakness. The yen's fall against the dollar until Thursday was "apparently excessive," Mitsuzuka told reporters after a regular Cabinet meeting.
JAPAN
Apr 11, 1997

Majority approval sends bill on base leases to Upper House

A government-sponsored bill that will enable the state to continue forcibly leasing land for U.S. military bases in Okinawa Prefecture was sent to the Upper House Friday after receiving overwhelming support in the Lower House.

Longform

Tetsuzo Shiraishi, speaking at The Center of the Tokyo Raids and War Damage, uses a thermos to explain how he experienced the U.S. firebombing of March 1945, when he was just 7 years old.
From ashes to high-rises: A survivor’s account of Tokyo’s postwar past