Visits to Tokyo's war-linked Yasukuni Shrine by ministers may resume after more than two years
Since conservatives close to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe joined his Cabinet in a reshuffle last month, there has been speculation that visits to war-related Yasukuni Shrine in Tokyo by Cabinet ministers may resume after a halt of 2½ years. Ahead of an autumn festival at ...
The quiet push to fix fractured Japan-South Korea relations
Almost a year has passed since the South Korean Supreme Court handed down a ruling ordering Japanese firms to pay damages to wartime forced laborers.
Rookie ministers a source of concern for Abe at special Diet session
Some of the 13 rookie ministers in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's new Cabinet are a source of concern for the administration at the upcoming extraordinary Diet session, according to political pundits. The 13 people landed their first ministerial posts in the Cabinet reshuffle carried out ...
Japanese government facing mounting criticism over initial response to Typhoon Faxai
The government is facing mounting criticism over its allegedly insufficient initial response to a recent powerful typhoon that left tens of thousands of households without electricity in Chiba Prefecture. "A political vacuum" was created as Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet on Sept. 11, ...
Defense Minister Taro Kono says Japan not yet ready to point fingers over Saudi attack
New Defense Minister Taro Kono held back on Wednesday from saying that Iran was involved in last week's attack on Saudi Arabia's Aramco oil plants, highlighting how Japan's position on rising tensions in the Middle East differs from that of the United States. "Although the ...
Abe's lesson in stability and pragmatism
Team Abe is not afraid to use power and has an agenda that is pro-growth and pro-business.
The official website of new Japanese information technology minister Naokazu Takemoto has been unviewable for the past few months, raising concerns among social media users over his ability to handle the portfolio, it was learned Friday. "The website has been locked by the company managing ...
The approval rating for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet has risen to 55.4 percent, up 5.1 percentage points from the previous poll in August, after he reshuffled his ministerial lineup and the leadership team of the Liberal Democratic Party, a Kyodo News survey showed ...
What policy agenda his administration chooses to tackle as a priority going forward will test the prime minister and his new team.
Abe shows his command over LDP in reshuffle
Abe demonstrated that he is clearly in the driver's seat, posturing his allies for advancement in the LDP ranks, keeping bandwagoners contained and edging out rivals altogether.
Opposition parties accused Prime Minister Shinzo Abe of favoring his political allies rather than making merit-based appointments in his Cabinet reshuffle Wednesday, while also questioning the timing of the announcement given that parts of Kanto are still recovering from Typhoon Faxai. "It is a Cabinet ...
Observers sift through Abe's reshuffle picks for his potential successors
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his Cabinet for the seventh time Wednesday, trying again to boost popularity among voters by tapping fresh faces and further cement his power base by doling out prestigious Cabinet posts to ruling lawmakers — business as usual. But this time, ...
