Tag - abe-administration

 
 

ABE ADMINISTRATION

EDITORIALS
Jul 3, 2014
Questions about nuclear safety
Even as opinion polls indicate that most people would like to see Japan shed its dependence on nuclear power, the Abe administration appears to be trying to turn the clock back to before 2011.
EDITORIALS
Jun 29, 2014
Rushing on collective self-defense
The Abe administration may adopt a Cabinet decision as early as this week to change the government's long-standing interpretation of the Constitution so that Japan can participate in 'collective self-defense.' Opinions from the public do not seem welcome.
EDITORIALS
Jun 26, 2014
Ensure stability of pension fund
It would be a mistake to view the Abe administration's shakeup of the Government Pension Investment Fund as a short-term shot in the arm for the stock market rather than as a way to stabilize the nation's public pension system.
EDITORIALS
Jun 18, 2014
New Komeito shouldn't cave in
New Komeito's most important party ideal — pacifism — is being tested by the Abe administration's efforts to allow Japan to engage in collective self-defense.
EDITORIALS
Jun 12, 2014
Dangerous turn in ODA policy
The Abe administration should give up on a plan to change the government's basic policy on official development assistance in ways that could see aid used for the armed forces of foreign countries.
EDITORIALS
Jun 5, 2014
Promotion criteria for bureaucrats
Under a new government personnel management system, the prime minister's office will take the lead in promotions, transfers and appointments of senior officials at ministries and agencies to eliminate ministry sectionalism and to tap people more in line with the administration's policies.
EDITORIALS
May 7, 2014
Easing work-hour regulations
Key government panels for the Abe administration are looking into easing work-hour regulations so that some workers could be rewarded on the basis of performance rather than hours spent in the office.
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 2014
Abe turns back clock on education
The Diet has begun deliberations on a bill that would give local government heads greater leeway to intervene in education as well as reverse some features of postwar education reform.
EDITORIALS
Apr 17, 2014
Tread carefully on corporate tax cut
As the Abe administration considers cuts to corporate taxes as part of its growth strategy, it must ensure that it doesn't end up plugging the revenue hole by adding tax burdens to the household sector, already bearing the brunt of the April 1 consumption tax hike and rising prices.
EDITORIALS
Apr 16, 2014
Avoid setting dangerous precedent
The Abe administration is trying to kill — by a mere Cabinet decision alone — a constitutional interpretation barring collective self-defense that has been backed by Diet debates for decades.
EDITORIALS
Apr 6, 2014
A risky weapons-export policy
The Abe administration must consider whether its new policy that relaxes Japan's long-standing prohibitions against weapons exports could increase tension with other countries and thereby reduce national security.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 27, 2014
Abe's pace on two right legs
The current Abe administration finds itself with two right legs — one composed of traditional conservative forces that favor strong ties with the U.S. and another that takes anti-U.S. postures. Both jockey for influence within Abe' Liberal Democratic Party.
EDITORIALS
Mar 24, 2014
Abe's transparency move falls short
The Abe administration's decision to keep and release summaries of the minutes of Cabinet meetings sounds like a positive step, but it is not likely to lead to a substantial increase in the transparency of how the government makes decisions.
COMMENTARY / Japan
Mar 9, 2014
Abe's right wing threatens to cause a flap for business
One danger from Japan's nationalist rhetoric of late is that it may incite extreme nationalist reactions in China and South Korea that further damage Japanese business interests.
EDITORIALS
Mar 3, 2014
Don't scrap weapons-export ban
The Abe administration plans to ditch the nation's long-standing three-point weapons exports ban and replace it with a policy that would turn Japan into a weapons exporting country.
EDITORIALS
Feb 27, 2014
Steps toward politicized education
The Abe administration plans to submit bills in this Diet session that would reduce the autonomy of a local board of education and make it easier for the education ministry to challenge a board of education's decision on, say, textbook selection.
EDITORIALS
Feb 20, 2014
Expanding the temp workforce
A labor law revision being prepared by the government would remove the three-year limit on dispatching temporary workers to the same job, and thus expand the ranks of a workforce that traditionally has had little job security and received less pay than regular employees.
COMMENTARY / Japan / SENTAKU MAGAZINE
Feb 16, 2014
An endangered liberal voice
What has become of the Liberal Democratic Party's 'liberalism' since the Abe administration took the nation's helm? A lone survivor of that tradition weighs in on the future of 'Abenomics' and Japan itself.
EDITORIALS
Feb 12, 2014
Prioritizing medical research
The Abe administration is seeking to establish a new system for the nation's medical research in which the government takes the lead role in pushing large-scale projects in the development of new drugs and medical technology.
EDITORIALS
Jan 30, 2014
Calling Abe to account
The ruling Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito should refrain from ramrodding their proposals through the Diet as they did with the state state secrets bill during the recent extradordinary Diet session.

Longform

Rows of irises resemble a rice field at the Peter Walker-designed Toyota Municipal Museum of Art.
The 'outsiders' creating some of Japan's greenest spaces