Search - cabinet

 
 
Tokyo's Ginza shopping district. In its revised estimates, the Cabinet Office cut its inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast for the current fiscal year ending in March 2025 to 0.7% from 0.9% projected in July.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 1, 2024

Japan cuts growth forecast again for current fiscal year on weak exports

In its revised estimates, the Cabinet Office cut its inflation-adjusted GDP growth forecast for the year ending in March 2025 to 0.7% from 0.9% projected in July.
Seiji Kihara is expected to be named the Liberal Democratic Party's new head of the Election Strategy Committee.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 7, 2024

Ishiba to pick Kihara as LDP election chief

Seiji Kihara is planned to take the top committee position so the LDP can smoothly prepare for elections for the Tokyo metropolitan assembly and the House of Councilors.
Key Square Group founder Scott Bessent speaks at a campaign event for Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump in Asheville, North Carolina, in August.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 9, 2024

Scott Bessent, top candidate for Treasury Secretary, meets with Trump

The Treasury Secretary job is a key Cabinet position, with vast influence over economic, regulatory and international affairs.
Former President Donald Trump, the Republican presidential nominee, walks on stage during a campaign rally at Huntington Place in Detroit on Oct. 18. President-elect Trump is not known for adherence to a disciplined and rigorous personnel selection process, but behind the scenes his advisers and allies have been preparing lists of candidates for the most important jobs in his administration.
WORLD / Politics
Nov 9, 2024

Trump weighs key personnel choices, schooled by his first-term experience

The president-elect held his first formal transition meetings and has been given lists of candidates, but is calling around to friends and allies for ideas.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba votes to elect the prime minister at the Lower House in Tokyo on Monday.
JAPAN / Politics
Nov 11, 2024

Ishiba holds on to PM role as tricky parliamentary session looms

Ishiba was forced into a runoff after no candidate for prime minister was able to secure a simple majority in the first round of voting.
Republican presidential nominee and former U.S. President Donald Trump shakes hands with senior adviser Susie Wiles as he speaks, following early results from the 2024 U.S. presidential election in Palm Beach County Convention Center, in West Palm Beach, Florida, on Nov. 6.
WORLD / Politics / FOCUS
Nov 12, 2024

As Donald Trump staffs up for second term, only MAGA loyalists need apply

As advisers and allies of Republican President-elect Donald Trump search for personnel to staff his coming administration, one quality is absolutely paramount: unquestioning loyalty.
Japan's economy expanded by an annualized 0.9% in the third quarter, data showed.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 15, 2024

Japan’s economy beats consensus in boost for BOJ rate hike case

Gross domestic product expanded at an annualized pace of 0.9% in the three months through September from the prior period, a tad higher than the 0.7% consensus estimate.
Core machinery orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise and down for the second straight month.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 18, 2024

Japan's machinery orders see unexpected fall in September

The orders dropped 0.7% in September month-on-month, confounding economists' median estimates for a 1.9% rise.
A view inside Beijing Daxing International Airport. Japanese nationals could soon visit China without a visa for up to 15 days, according to reports.
BUSINESS / Economy
Nov 19, 2024

China may soon resume visa exemptions for Japanese nationals, reports say

The news comes as the two countries work toward mending fences after a period of tension and in the face of rising protectionist threats.
U.S. President Donald Trump is interviewed by Fox and Friends co-host Pete Hegseth at the White House in Washington on April 6, 2017.
WORLD / Politics / ANALYSIS
Nov 20, 2024

Trump picks Gaetz and Hegseth hold grudges against the agencies they would run

They both feel victimized by the agencies they would take over, giving them further motivation to embrace Trump's call for a to-the-bones makeover.
A man walks past a gasoline station in Tokyo on Thursday.
ENVIRONMENT / Energy / OUR PLANET
Nov 24, 2024

How Japan can exit the fossil fuel subsidies it can’t seem to quit

While offering relief to low-income households, such measures encourage the continued use of the fossil fuels driving climate change.
Chinese Defense Minister Dong Jun attends the opening ceremony of the Xiangshan Forum at the Beijing International Convention Center on Sept. 13. Dong is the third consecutive incumbent or former defense chief to be probed over alleged corruption.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Nov 27, 2024

China defense minister being investigated for corruption, report says

The probe could undermine efforts to maintain military-to-military communications just months before Donald Trump returns to the White House.
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba arrives to deliver a policy address during a Lower House session in Tokyo on Friday.
BUSINESS / Tech
Nov 29, 2024

Japan earmarks extra ¥1.5 trillion for chips and AI this year

Japan is fighting to keep up in a global spending spree on cutting-edge tech led by China and the U.S.
Philippine Vice President Sara Duterte holds a news conference in Quezon City, in Metro Manila, on Tuesday. She denied she was plotting to kill President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., saying recent comments that sparked a government probe only reflected "consternation" with her one-time ally.
COMMENTARY / World
Dec 1, 2024

Philippines politics is often mad. It just got crazier.

Manila cannot afford to be distracted by the latest round of clan rivalry and violent threats.
British Prime Minister Keir Starmer sits down with leaders from the Council's eight Member Administrations for the plenary meeting during a British-Irish Council (BIC) Summit in Edinburgh, Scotland on Friday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 9, 2024

Starmer plans reform of U.K. state in bid to counter criticism

The newly introduced fund will help deploy teams of people around the country with the aim of solving issues in public services.
French President Emmanuel Macron will aim to avoid a new legislative election for more than two years, according to an official close to him.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 11, 2024

Macron aims to deter French far right with bid to avoid vote

The French president is piecing together a coalition of moderates that he hopes will last until 2027, when his term ends.
Han Duck-soo, South Korea's prime minister (center), arrives at the National Assembly in Seoul on Wednesday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 14, 2024

Who is Han Duck-soo, South Korea's acting president after Yoon impeachment?

In a country sharply divided by partisan rhetoric, Han has been a rare official whose varied career transcended party lines.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau arrives at the federal Liberal caucus holiday party, the day after Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland unexpectedly resigned, in Ottawa on Tuesday.
WORLD / Politics
Dec 22, 2024

From liberal icon to MAGA joke: The waning fortunes of Justin Trudeau

Canada’s prime minister gained global renown 10 years ago for his unabashedly progressive politics. But at home, voters turned sour on him long ago.
The government said in the survey there were no cases of disruptive behavior, such as radio jamming, from sites that buyers from China acquired targeting the areas with national security importance.
JAPAN
Dec 24, 2024

Most foreign buyers of land near Japan security areas are Chinese: survey

Japan's government said there were no cases of disruptive behavior, such as radio jamming, from the acquired sites targeting the areas with national security importance.
South Korea's ruling People Power Party lawmakers (bottom) argue to National Assembly Speaker Woo Won-shik (second right top) during the plenary session for the impeachment vote of acting president Han Duck-soo at the National Assembly in Seoul on Friday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Dec 27, 2024

South Korea's parliament impeaches acting president Han Duck-soo

The move plunged the country deeper into political chaos, as the Constitutional Court also said it would swiftly trial suspended President Yoon Suk Yeol.
On the first day of the 2000s, the world was relieved that the Y2K computer glitch was mostly nothing. And in Russia, Vladimir Putin came to power.
JAPAN / History / Japan Times Gone By
Jan 1, 2025

Japan Times 2000: Japanese celebrate new year

Check out what was on the front page on Jan. 1 in 1925, 1950, 1975 and 2000.
People pray on the first day of the new year at Meiji Shrine in Tokyo. Japan’s economy is set for modest growth in 2025 supported by wage increases and stimulus, but faces risks from political instability and global challenges.
EDITORIALS
Jan 3, 2025

Hope for the economy in 2025, but dangers loom

Political uncertainty at home and a tumultuous international environment pose real risks for the nation’s economy.
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau speaks at the federal Liberal caucus holiday party in Ottawa on Dec. 17.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

Canada's Trudeau expected to announce resignation in coming days: report

Justin Trudeau has been under pressure from elected lawmakers in his party to quit for months.
A supporter of impeached South Korea President Yoon Suk Yeol holds a sign during a rally near Yoon's residence in Seoul on Monday.
ASIA PACIFIC / Politics
Jan 6, 2025

South Korean authorities seek extended arrest deadline for Yoon

Impeached President Yoon Suk Yeol has refused questioning three times while an earlier arrest attempt failed, leaving the embattled leader holed up in his residence.
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau of Canada announces his resignation in Ottawa on Monday.
WORLD / Politics
Jan 8, 2025

The race begins to replace Canada's Trudeau as prime minister

Canada's new leader is likely to face elections within weeks of taking over from Justin Trudeau in March.
Rahm Emanuel professes that the biggest thing he has brought to the U.S.-Japan relationship might be a fresh injection of vitality.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 9, 2025

Emanuel leaves reform legacy amid historic shifts in U.S.-Japan alliance

The departing U.S. ambassador arguably oversaw the most consequential shift in the U.S.-Japan alliance in decades.
"This is a year of elections," Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba (center) told peer LDP executives at a party meeting held Tuesday to mark party members' start of work for this year, at LDP headquarters in Tokyo.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 10, 2025

Talk of summer double election persists in Japan

The Liberal Democratic Party and Komeito have agreed to begin preparations for the next Lower House election.
Solar panels and a coal-fired power station in Fukushima Prefecture. Japan has not set a clear path for phasing out coal and its new draft energy plan foresees an important role for fossil fuels, especially gas, and nuclear power in its future energy mix.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Jan 13, 2025

Japan’s energy plans endanger real climate solutions

The government's draft energy plans were not subject to open debate and their outcome shows an insufficient commitment to making the changes needed to tackle climate change.
Demonstrators in Rabat, Morocco, on Thursday show support for Palestinians following the news of a ceasefire and hostage release deal between Hamas and Israel.
COMMENTARY
Jan 17, 2025

Gaza ceasefire deal is a win for Trump

Donald Trump secured a Gaza ceasefire by pressuring Israel into an agreement, but achieving a lasting peace will depend on resolving deeper regional issues.
Seiji Maehara, co-leader of Nippon Ishin no Kai, is interviewed in Tokyo on Thursday. The party is calling for a ban on political donations from firms and organizations.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 19, 2025

Nippon Ishin stresses need for corporate donation ban

Nippon Ishin has also called for making high school free, eliminating nursery fees for kids up to 2 and realizing tuition-free higher education.

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