National Nov 12, 2020
Memorial service for former PM Nakasone held in Gunma hometown
Around 2,400 invited guests including parliamentarians and local municipality heads honored Nakasone, who led Japan from 1982 to 1987, in the memorial service.
National / Politics | FOCUS Oct 19, 2020
Could reform mission put Taro Kono on path to succeed Suga?
by Eric Johnston
Driving reforms is giving the media- and social media-savvy 57-year-old the opportunity to raise his political profile by playing to his strengths. Will it be enough?
National Oct 18, 2020
Ex-PM Nakasone's memorial service held amid controversy over academic freedom
The memorial service, held at a Tokyo hotel, also drew criticism from opposition lawmakers over the hefty cost of the event.
National Oct 15, 2020
Government asks universities to join in mourning for Nakasone
The request, made by education minister Koichi Hagiuda in a letter dated Tuesday, has left some academics questioning its appropriateness.
National Sep 29, 2020
Government and LDP to pay half of ¥190 million Nakasone funeral
The cost will be split evenly between the government and the LDP, but the spending plan has been drawing criticism, especially on the internet, for being too costly.
National / Politics Dec 26, 2019
Japan PM Takeshita heeded warning to avoid Yasukuni before 1988 China trip
In August 1988, the Japanese ambassador to China urged Prime Minister Noboru Takeshita not to visit the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine, months before his trip to the country, declassified diplomatic records showed Wednesday. On March 1, 1988, Ambassador Toshijiro Nakajima briefed Takeshita for some 20 minutes ...
National / Politics Dec 25, 2019
Gorbachev agreed to address islands dispute in 1988 with Nakasone: declassified records
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev acknowledged the need to resolve the dispute with Japan over the sovereignty of a group of islands off Hokkaido in a 1988 meeting, diplomatic records declassified Wednesday show. Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone elicited the response from Gorbachev when he ...
National / Politics | Commentary Dec 5, 2019
LDP statesman Yasuhiro Nakasone helped shape postwar Japan from the top down
by Ryuji Hattori
Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, who died at 101 on Nov. 29, will undoubtedly be remembered as a giant in Japan's political history. But before he became a political titan and Japan's fifth-longest-serving postwar prime minister, Nakasone was on the fringes of the nation's conservative ...
Commentary / Japan Dec 2, 2019
Should Tokyo cancel Xi's visit due to Hong Kong?
by Kuni Miyake
A patriotic but pragmatic prime minister like Yasuhiro Nakasone would never try to show Japan's displeasure by canceling Xi's upcoming state visit.
National / Politics Dec 1, 2019
Trump sends condolences over death of ex-Japanese leader Yasuhiro Nakasone
U.S. President Donald Trump on Saturday offered "deepest condolences" over the death earlier in the week of former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, saying he had laid the foundation for the U.S.-Japan partnership. "On behalf of the American people, Melania and I offer our deepest condolences ...
National / Politics Nov 30, 2019
Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev sends condolences over death of Yasuhiro Nakasone
Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev offered his condolences Friday on the death of Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, saying the latter had been determined to improve Japan-Soviet relations. Gorbachev, 88, said he became acquainted with Nakasone in 1985 and their friendship continued after the two leaders ...
National / Politics Nov 30, 2019
Ex-PM Yasuhiro Nakasone nurtured ties with Beijing and Seoul but created a stink over Yasukuni
Former Prime Minister Yasuhiro Nakasone, a conservative politician who died Friday at the age of 101, is recognized in China as the leader who helped usher in a so-called honeymoon-like period in bilateral relations with Japan in the 1980s. In 1985, however, he made an ...