National / Politics Oct 18, 2014
Obuchi scandal bad omen for Abe
by Reiji Yoshida
The departure of METI chief Yuko Obuchi would be a bad omen for Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his reactor restart and female empowerment strategies.
World / Politics Sep 26, 2014
U.S. Attorney General Holder to step down after contentious term
Eric Holder, the first black U.S. attorney general and one of President Barack Obama's closest allies, will announce on Thursday he is stepping down after a contentious term marked by advances in civil rights and frequent battles with Republicans in Congress. Holder will remain in ...
World / Politics Aug 5, 2014
U.K. minister quits over 'morally indefensible' Gaza policy
by William James
Sayeeda Warsi, a senior minister in Britain's Foreign Office, resigned on Tuesday, accusing Prime Minister David Cameron's government of taking a "morally indefensible" approach to the conflict between Israel and Hamas. While the British government has repeatedly called for an immediate cease-fire in Gaza, Cameron ...
National / Politics May 16, 2014
Abe's man in Cabinet law office steps down
by Reiji Yoshida
Prime Minister Abe suffers a potential setback as Ichiro Komatsu, the first unilaterally appointed chief of the Cabinet Legislation Bureau, which interprets the Constitution, resigns.
National Feb 16, 2014
A majority of voters in the city of Osaka have doubts about the snap election nationalist Mayor Toru Hashimoto has called to seek judgement on his proposal to merge the Osaka prefectural and municipal governments, a Kyodo News survey said Sunday. In the telephone survey, ...
National / Politics Feb 7, 2014
Hashimoto submits resignation to assembly
by Eric Johnston
Osaka Mayor Toru Hashimoto formally submitted his resignation Friday to the head of the municipal assembly, setting the stage for a snap election in mid or late March. "I would like to seek a fresh mandate from voters to achieve a breakthrough" in the plan ...
National Jan 30, 2014
Scholar quits NHK over nuclear power hush-up
by Tomoko Otake
A noted professor who regularly provides commentary on an NHK AM radio show resigns from the program to protest the broadcaster's demand that nuclear power not be discussed until after the Feb. 9 Tokyo gubernatorial poll.
National / Politics Dec 25, 2013
Tokyo election board picks Feb. 9 for governor's race
by Masaaki Kameda
The special election to pick the successor to Naoki Inose as Tokyo governor will be held Feb. 9, the metropolitan election board announced Wednesday, while speculation continued over potential candidates. Potential names swirling in the rumor mill include former health minister Yoichi Masuzoe, ex-Lower House ...
National Dec 24, 2013
The Tokyo Metropolitan Assembly on Tuesday approved Gov. Naoki Inose's resignation. Inose, elected Dec. 16, 2012, is stepping down after just 372 days, the shortest period in office in the capital's history, after coming under intense criticism for taking ¥50 million from scandal-tainted hospital chain ...
National Dec 19, 2013
Japanese Olympic Committee President Tsunekazu Takeda said Thursday he is sorry to hear that Tokyo Gov. Naoki Inose is resigning over a money scandal, because he played a leading role in Tokyo's successful bid to host the 2020 Olympics. "We will keep close contact with ...
National / Politics Jul 25, 2013
SDP's Fukushima resigns over dual election losses
by Reiji Yoshida
Mizuho Fukushima, head of the Social Democratic Party for nearly a decade, resigned Thursday to take responsibility for the party's losses in Sunday's Upper House election and the Lower House election in December. The SDP, whose predecessor was once the largest opposition party from 1955 ...