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JAPAN
Jun 1, 2010

Hatoyama finds SDP joining his foes

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's administration found itself in an increasingly tight spot Monday after the Social Democratic Party bolted from the ruling bloc and then turned around and signaled it would side with a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet.
EDITORIALS
May 31, 2010

Reining in personnel costs

A bill to revise the National Public Service Law, intended to strengthen Cabinet members' control over national public servants, is before the Diet. The Cabinet decided May 21 to cut by 39 percent the recruitment of national public servants in fiscal 2011, but there appears to be confusion in the Hatoyama...
EDITORIALS
May 30, 2010

Futenma outcome disappoints

In a joint statement Friday, the foreign and defense ministers of Japan and the United States declared that the replacement facility for U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma, Okinawa, will be relocated to the Henoko area of Camp Schwab and adjacent waters in Nago, the northern part of Okinawa Island....
EDITORIALS
May 5, 2010

Mr. Hatoyama's rating in a spin

The Hatoyama Cabinet, which enjoyed an approval rating of 72 percent when it started in mid-September, is now writhing under an approval rating that has plummeted to 20.7 percent in an April 28-29 Kyodo News poll — a drop of 12.3 points from the previous poll on April 3 and 4. Meanwhile, the disapproval...
BUSINESS
Apr 21, 2010

S&P eyes debt target, Upper House results

Standard & Poor's will be taking a keen look at the debt reduction target announced by the government in June, when the midterm fiscal policy will be compiled, but the result of this summer's Upper House election may have a greater impact on its rating of Japanese government bonds, a director of the...
JAPAN
Mar 24, 2010

DPJ to punish Kobayashi for inaction on scandal

The Democratic Party of Japan will discipline Chiyomi Kobayashi since she has reneged on her decision to quit the Diet over a scandal involving ¥16 million in shady funds, Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY / World
Feb 11, 2010

Critical role for bureaucrats

HONG KONG — Some political commentators are suggesting that Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama is preparing to make Britain his model for reforming Japan's government system so that ministers — and not bureaucrats — make the important policy decisions.
EDITORIALS
Jan 1, 2010

Mr. Hatoyama and the DPJ in '10

The year 2010 will be a watershed year for the administration of Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama, which came into power last September, ending the Liberal Democratic Party's almost unbroken rule since November 1955. If the administration fails to produce results that meet people's expectations this year,...
COMMUNITY / Issues / THE ZEIT GIST
Sep 29, 2009

Gaijin health coverage: an appeal for choice

Unless you've just made it to this corner of the world in the last couple of weeks, you're probably well aware of the new visa guideline that's scheduled to go into effect in April 2010. Because of this guideline, foreigners who wish to renew their visa and who are required to be enrolled in social health...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 8, 2009

Consumer Affairs boss underscores new, yet tenuous, role

The Consumer Affairs Agency must play the vital role of being the only government organ tasked with serving consumers, but in the process it might help bureaucrats improve their public image, the director general of the new body said.
JAPAN
Sep 3, 2009

Rifts surface as DPJ seeks to woo allies

Fresh from Sunday's landslide Lower House election win, the Democratic Party of Japan officially kicked off talks Wednesday with its two small allies to form a coalition government, but the day's talks pointed to a rough road ahead.
Japan Times
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Aug 31, 2009

Historic sea change at polls product of frustrated public

For better or worse, history has been made.
COMMENTARY
Aug 22, 2009

The decline of policymaking

I have misgivings about the decline of Japanese policymaking abilities.
EDITORIALS
Jul 4, 2009

Dwindling ability to lead

The mini-reshuffle of the Cabinet this week shows that Prime Minister Taro Aso's power to lead his Liberal Democratic Party in a direction he desires has dwindled. He had sought a substantial reshuffle of both the Cabinet and the party leadership to buoy his administration's sagging approval rate. But...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Apr 30, 2009

Opening the door to foreigners

Massive layoffs from the current economic crisis are falling heavily on foreign workers, many of whom are opting to leave the country to seek work back home.

Longform

A mushroom cloud from the atomic bombing on Hiroshima taken from a U.S. military aircraft on Aug. 6, 1945. Copying the photo without permission is prohibited.
80 years on, a Japanese American hibakusha recalls the day the bomb dropped