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Toshi Maeda
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2001
Budget passage offers Mori no relief
Normally, a prime minister will breathe a sigh of relief when the annual budget package clears the Lower House. But for Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, the chamber's approval of the 82.65 trillion yen fiscal 2001 budget could mark the beginning of the end for his administration.
JAPAN / STAGING A COMEBACK
Feb 7, 2001
LDP still kowtows to vested interests at the economy's expense
Pop into a convenience store and you may still find inconvenience: They don't sell medicine and you may not find cigarettes or alcohol at some shops.
JAPAN
Jan 4, 2001
July election to be verdict on Mori
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori appears to be pinning his survival on a shift from postwar economic materialism to a revival of traditional values, but his true prospects will depend more on his ability to avoid making blunders.
JAPAN / CABINET INTERVIEW
Dec 15, 2000
Streamlining hopes face roadblocks: Hashimoto
The ongoing process of realigning central government ministries and agencies remains trapped in a bureaucratic vise, according to former Prime Minister Ryutaro Hashimoto, who is currently state minister in charge of streamlining the nation's bureaucracy.
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2000
Hashimoto faction wins big in shakeup
Policy continuity, factional power plays and surprise appointments characterized the new Cabinet launched Tuesday by Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who hopes his new team will help him and his Liberal Democratic Party survive the months leading to next summer's Upper House election.
JAPAN
Dec 1, 2000
Mori weathers storm but warned against further gaffes
The 72-day extraordinary Diet session comes to a close today with Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori clinging to power despite a series of challenges that could have ousted him from office.
JAPAN
Nov 22, 2000
Kato's momentous rebellion leaves Mori in charge -- for the moment
The failure of Koichi Kato's revolt against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori leaves the unpopular leader at the nation's helm -- at least for the moment.
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2000
LDP may sack Mori to stay intact
Koichi Kato's revolt against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has fueled growing sentiment within the Liberal Democratic Party that the unpopular Mori should step down to avert a crisis that could severely split the ruling party.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2000
With shield gone, Mori may be next
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's decision Friday to accept Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa's resignation was apparently aimed at containing further damage to his administration, which was battered recently over his comments regarding a controversial proposal to North Korea.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2000
Foreign residents on slow boat to get vote
The Japanese woman was unhappy.
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2000
Mori targets damage control, economic stimulus in session
During the extra Diet session convening today, Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori hopes to fix the damage done to his ruling bloc by recent money scandals and boost the fragile economic recovery with a stimulus package worth more than 10 trillion yen, including 4 trillion yen in new spending.
JAPAN
Sep 10, 2000
Hatoyama elected DPJ president again
Yukio Hatoyama, leader of the Democratic Party of Japan, was elected party president for a second term at a party convention Saturday in Tokyo, pledging to establish a new DPJ-led government after the Upper House elections next summer.
JAPAN
Aug 18, 2000
Lawmakers try to rid LDP of stodgy ways
A new breed of Liberal Democratic Party lawmaker openly says that the party is an anachronism.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2000
Kuze's excuses put spotlight on dubious LDP roster system
A day after Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's apology before the Diet appeared to alleviate the chaos over the resignation of a scandal-tainted Cabinet member, the opposition shifted its target Tuesday to the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's dubious election roster system.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000
Voters sided with unpopular status quo
Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's nonstop gaffes and his administration's staggering unpopularity were ultimately tolerated by the voters who preferred the status quo to gambling on the opposition.
JAPAN / ELECTION 2000: VOX POPULI
Jun 23, 2000
Dailies helping bureaucrats keep status quo: van Wolferen
Major Japanese newspapers are in league with bureaucrats to maintain the status quo and are the biggest obstacle to political reform, warns Dutch journalist Karel van Wolferen.
JAPAN
Jun 20, 2000
Continue irresponsible politics or vote for my party: Ozawa
A series of apparent setbacks in the political arena have not dented the aspirations of the Liberal Party to shake the foundations of the system, according to its maverick leader, Ichiro Ozawa.
JAPAN
Jun 17, 2000
Ogi's New Conservatives aim to lay Japan's 'moral ground'
The recently launched New Conservative Party, the smallest force in the tripartite ruling coalition, hopes to maintain its current strength in the June 25 election in order to lay the "moral ground" for the country in the next century.
JAPAN
Jun 8, 2000
Poll to pit Young Turks against old nepotism
Minoru Fujimoto, 31, has wavy, dyed brown hair. He is one of the new breed of "smiling" Japanese Communist Party members, whose appearance may surprise longtime party supporters who are used to more traditional-looking candidates.
JAPAN
May 4, 2000
Should Constitution lead or follow?
Wednesday marked the first time Constitution Day -- commemorating the day the document was put into effect in 1947 -- coincided with lawmakers locking horns over whether to change the sacred charter.

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