Tag - reforms

 
 

REFORMS

Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 26, 2016
French nuclear plants to strike Thursday but blackouts unlikely: CGT union
Staff in France's 19 nuclear plants have voted to go on strike on Thursday as part of protests over a labor reform, a CGT union official told Reuters on Wednesday.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
May 18, 2016
U.S. eases some Myanmar sanctions to push reforms but keeps most economic curbs in place
The United States eased some sanctions on Myanmar on Tuesday to support ongoing political reforms, but maintained most of its economic restrictions in an effort to punish those Washington sees as hampering the country's newly elected government.
JAPAN / Politics
Jan 14, 2016
Panel calls for cuts in Lower House seats, reallocation of others to correct vote-value disparities
The reform would rectify gaps in the weight of votes between constituencies, and also cut the total number of seats to a postwar low of 465.
BUSINESS / Economy
Oct 9, 2015
G-20 addresses global risks amid China slowdown
Finance chiefs from the Group of 20 industrialized countries on Thursday discussed the need to contain downside risks facing the global economy by enhancing domestic demand and expanding employment.
Japan Times
WORLD / Politics
Jul 15, 2015
Obama, at NAACP gatheriing, urges Congress to overhaul mandatory minimum sentences
President Barack Obama called on Congress to pass legislation by year's end to lower or eliminate mandatory minimum sentences.
EDITORIALS
Jul 14, 2015
Insufficient electoral reform effort
In enacting electoral reforms, the LDP needs to put voters' constitutional rights ahead of its own interests.
Japan Times
WORLD / Society
Jul 9, 2015
Pope pays brief high-altitude Bolivia visit, praises reforms, pays tribute to slain priest
Pope Francis arrived in Bolivia on Wednesday, praising the government of leftist President Evo Morales, the country's first indigenous leader whose frosty relationship with the Catholic Church has begun to thaw under the Argentine pontiff's papacy.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 24, 2015
Asia, Africa leaders call for U.N. Security Council reform
Asian and African leaders on Thursday called for "a comprehensive reform" of the U.N. Security Council so it can better represent the realities of the international community in the 21st century.
JAPAN / Politics
Apr 3, 2015
Cabinet approves JA-Zenchu reform bill
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's Cabinet on Friday approved a bill to help reform the agriculture sector by estranging a politically powerful farming lobby by revising agriculture laws.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 18, 2015
Abe's JA reforms no salve for core problems, experts say
Takashi Tomita, who heads an agricultural cooperative in Echizen, Fukui Prefecture, is considered a ray of hope for a farming sector on the brink of collapse.
BUSINESS / Companies
Feb 17, 2015
YKK may become first company to get tax breaks for relocating Tokyo HQ
Major fastener-maker YKK Corp. may become the first company to receive tax breaks that the central government plans to offer to Tokyo-based firms that move their headquarters operations outside the capital, according to informed sources.
COMMENTARY / World
Jan 27, 2015
Vested interests stalemate reforms in China
Unless and until China's top leaders overcome resistance from vested interests, progress on reform will remain sluggish.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy / ANALYSIS
Dec 28, 2014
2015: Make or break year for 'Abenomics'?
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe is likely to pursue a variety of policies that may hold the key to Japan's economic recovery in 2015.
BUSINESS
Nov 6, 2014
Abe team mulls spousal tax break to encourage women to work more hours
The Abe administration is thinking about introducing a new income tax deduction for breadwinners regardless of spousal income, sources said.
EDITORIALS
Oct 2, 2014
Weaker case for the law schools
Reform of the nation's system for training legal professionals — introduced a decade ago to draw people from more diverse backgrounds into the legal professional community — is under scrutiny as the ratio of applicants passing the national bar exam falls to a record low.
EDITORIALS
Sep 19, 2014
Liberalizing the power market
Legislation enacted in June will end the decades-long monopoly of Japan's regional utility companies by liberalizing the retail sale of electricity to households in 2016.
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 5, 2014
Economic safeguards again in works for next tax hike, Amari says
The government plans to have steps in place to protect the economy if it decides to complete the doubling of the consumption tax to 10 percent in October 2015, reappointed economy minister Akira Amari said Friday.
COMMENTARY / World
Aug 3, 2014
Europe may have weathered financial storm, but aging society will need structural reform
Europe may have weathered the financial storm, but elected leaders face a daunting task enacting structural reforms of labor markets, pension systems and taxes to restore growth.
COMMENTARY / World
Jun 22, 2014
Little reform since Snowden spilled the beans
Edward J. Snowden's revelations a year ago sparked a public debate about the protection of personal data from Internet surveillance. What his revelations have not done is bring about significant government reforms.
JAPAN
Jun 10, 2014
Panel calls for traineeship shake-up
The Justice Ministry is looking at ways to reform the long-criticized foreign trainee program, including whether to boost penalties for employers abuse trainees.

Longform

When trying to trace your lineage in Japan, the "koseki" is the most important form of document you'll encounter.
Climbing the branches of a Japanese family tree