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Natsuko Fukue
JAPAN
May 9, 2012
DPJ reinstates Noda tax foe Ozawa
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan reinstated the party membership of Ichiro Ozawa on Tuesday, a move that intensifies the power struggle over a proposed tax hike the DPJ heavyweight opposes and opens the door for him to run in the party presidential election in September, when Prime Minister Yoshihiko...
JAPAN
May 8, 2012
Low autopsy rate seen abetting murderers
Kanae Kijima, recently sentenced to hang for killing three boyfriends, may have been arrested before the second and third murders if police had conducted an autopsy on the first victim, Takao Terada, who was found dead in his Tokyo home in 2009.
JAPAN
Apr 28, 2012
Eased postal reforms, Diet pay cuts passed
The Diet passed a bill Friday to amend the Postal Privatization Law and water down the postal reforms championed in the early 2000s by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, and a bill to trim national lawmakers' salaries for two years.
JAPAN
Apr 21, 2012
Censure motions passed on ministers
The Upper House passed nonbinding censure motions Friday against Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka and Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism Minister Takeshi Maeda, delivering a double blow to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's administration.
JAPAN
Apr 18, 2012
LDP readies two censure motions
It looks like Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his ruling Democratic Party of Japan are in for a rough ride in the current Diet session. The Liberal Democratic Party said Tuesday it is ready to submit censure motions against two Cabinet ministers.
JAPAN
Apr 13, 2012
Lawmakers give nod to weakened postal bill
A government-sponsored bill that waters down the postal privatization reforms pushed through by then Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi cleared the Lower House on Thursday, which may allow the government to retain control of the banking, mail and insurance juggernaut for years to come.
JAPAN
Apr 12, 2012
Opposition grills Noda over tax reform details
Social security and tax reform plans were the main issues of contention Wednesday as opposition party leaders grilled Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda during a one-on-one Diet debate.
JAPAN
Apr 10, 2012
LDP and Komeito shoot down reform talks
Two main opposition parties on Monday spurned a call by the ruling Democratic Party of Japan to hold talks on social security and tax reform, dealing another setback to Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda as he seeks support for a contentious tax hike bill.
Japan Times
JAPAN / EXPLAINER
Apr 10, 2012
Teachers with two left feet struggling with dance classes
A new education rule that kicked in this year has created a fresh challenge for gym teachers across the nation: how to teach hip-hop.
JAPAN
Apr 6, 2012
Budget finally passed
The fiscal 2012 budget, at more than ¥90 trillion the biggest in history, was finally enacted by the Diet on Thursday as an earlier vote in the Lower House took priority after the opposition-controlled Upper House shot it down earlier in the day.
JAPAN / ANALYSIS
Mar 31, 2012
Passage hinges on Ozawa, opposition
Despite the Cabinet's approval Friday of a sales tax hike bill that sparked months of dissent and resistance from the ruling party's ranks, Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda may find that in the deadlocked Diet, the more things change, the more they stay the same.
JAPAN
Mar 30, 2012
Liquefaction driving away Chiba residents
Chiba's population is declining for the first time in 66 years as residents in bedroom communities damaged by last March's liquefaction decide to abandon the prefecture, fed up with authorities' failure to repair their homes and fearful of radioactive fallout.
BUSINESS
Mar 29, 2012
Bill passed to lift temp workers' lot but no manufacturer dispatch ban
The Diet passed a bill Wednesday to amend the Workers Dispatch Law, aiming to improve the working conditions of temporary employees.
JAPAN
Mar 28, 2012
Tanaka ratchets up SDF missile shield standby
Defense Minister Naoki Tanaka on Tuesday ordered the Self-Defense Forces to prepare missile shield elements to intercept a rocket North Korea plans to launch next month.
JAPAN
Mar 23, 2012
Foes to sales tax hike in DPJ impede bill
The administration and the Democratic Party of Japan failed again Thursday to form a consensus among party members on the contentious consumption tax hike, postponing until next week a planned Cabinet meeting to formalize the bill.
JAPAN
Mar 13, 2012
Ozawa portrait hung at Diet with other old-timers
A portrait of former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa, who is on trial for allegedly breaking the political funds law, was displayed in the Diet on Monday.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2012
Lower House OKs ¥90 trillion 2012 budget but deadline delays loom
The Lower House passed a ¥90.3 trillion budget for fiscal 2012 on Thursday, ensuring the legislation will be enacted, but the opposition camp could still prevent it from entering into force before the new fiscal year starts.
JAPAN
Mar 6, 2012
DPJ leaders propose slashing lawmaker salaries by 14%
The ruling Democratic Party of Japan's executive members decided Monday to slash legislators' salaries by about 14 percent — nearly double the 7.8 percent pay cut for civil servants approved by the Diet last week.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2012
In rare case of bipartisanship, Diet cuts bureaucrats' pay
A bill to slash national civil servant salaries by an average of 7.8 percent for two years was enacted Wednesday after clearing the opposition-controlled Upper House.
JAPAN
Mar 1, 2012
10% wage cut for Diet ranks OK by Noda
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Wednesday he would advocate cutting the salaries of lawmakers by more than 10 percent.
Japan's biggest beef bowl chain Sukiya to shut nearly 2,000 stores after rat and bug contamination
Zensho Holdings, operator of fast-food chain Sukiya, said it will close all of its stores in Japan, except for a small number in shopping centers, between Monday and Friday following recent contamination incidents.
Alert raised for volcano in southwestern Japan
Shinmoedake, a volcano located between Miyazaki and Kagoshima prefectures, in November 2019
Japan considers all possible options as Trump threatens new auto tariffs
Subaru cars awaiting export at a port in Yokohama on Thursday.
Nankai Trough earthquake could kill 298,000 people, government says
Residents participate in an evacuation drill held with West Japan Railway in Shirahama, Wakayama Prefecture, in January 2024 to prepare for a Nankai Trough earthquake and a possible tsunami following the quake.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
A Canadian made a weekend trip to Costco a Japanese pastime
Under the watchful eye of Ken Theriault, Costco representative director and Japan country manager, the American membership-model wholesaler has flourished in Japan.
Tokyo tech failures lean into misfortune, mistakes and missteps
Tsuyoshi Domoto in Tokyo's Shinjuku Ward on March 28. As an entrepreneur, Domoto experienced plenty of setbacks but maintains a positive attitude and continues to pursue his dreams.
Who among the opposition would join the ruling coalition?
Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba enters his office in Tokyo on Friday.
Traveling the Three-Star Road, the tourist route made from thin air
Scenes like this snow-covered bridge leading to the village of Shirakawa-go are what make the Three-Star Road worth traveling — its name notwithstanding.
Recent spate of wildfires in Japan and South Korea linked to climate change
Smoke and flames rise from a wildfire in Andong, South Korea, on Tuesday.

Podcast

One of the many entrances to the Kabukicho neighborhood in Tokyo’s Shinjuku Ward.
Kabukicho: Tokyo’s ‘stadium of desire’

Longform

Professional cleaner Hirofumi Sakurai takes a moment to appreciate some photographs in a Gotanda apartment whose occupant died alone. 
The last cleanup: Life and death in a lonely Japan
By Johan Brooks

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