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Linda Sieg
Japan Times
JAPAN
Oct 14, 2014
Abe pledge on women hits day care roadblock: noise-allergic neighbors
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's efforts to help women juggle work and family are hitting an obstacle: opposition to building new day care centers from residents who fear that the sound of children playing will spoil their quiet neighborhoods.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / FOCUS
Oct 9, 2014
Expectations mount in Japan for Abe-Xi meeting
Expectations are growing in Japan that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will meet Chinese President Xi Jinping for an ice-breaking chat next month, while an aide signaled that Abe may postpone visits to the war-linked Yasukuni Shrine that have infuriated Beijing in the past.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Oct 3, 2014
Could Obuchi become Japan's first female prime minister?
With a telegenic presence, powerful ruling party mentors and a talent for avoiding making political enemies, new trade and industry minister Yuko Obuchi may have what it takes to become the country's first female prime minister.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Media / FOCUS
Sep 17, 2014
Asahi Shimbun struggles with credibility amid retractions
Self-inflicted wounds to the 135-year-old liberal media flagship may create a tailwind for conservatives who want to recast Japan's wartime past in a less apologetic tone.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 4, 2014
First lady Akie Abe speaks out ahead of consumption tax decision
First Lady Akie Abe said Thursday her husband's administration should consider cutting wasteful spending and boosting the economy before going ahead with a rise in the consumption tax to 10 percent.
Japan Times
BUSINESS / Economy
Sep 3, 2014
'Abenomics' appears headed for trouble as challenges build
Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's plan for the economy to generate self-sustained growth on the back of his three policy "arrows" of massive monetary easing, spending and reform appears to be faltering — but no magic solution is in sight.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Aug 22, 2014
Polarizing Abe learns the long game
Shinzo Abe is one of Japan's most polarizing prime ministers in decades. He may also have a good shot at becoming that rarity in Japanese politics — a long-serving leader.
JAPAN / Politics
Jul 23, 2014
Ozawa sees risk of militarism with Abe
When Prime Minister Shinzo Abe loosened the limits of the pacifist Constitution to drop a ban on the Self-Defense Forces fighting overseas, many experts said it was a step toward becoming a "normal country" able to do more in its own defense.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics / ANALYSIS
Jul 18, 2014
Abductee probe stirs thoughts of snap poll
As Tokyo presses North Korea for information on the fate of Japanese citizens abducted decades ago, speculation is simmering that Prime Minister Shinzo Abe could use a possible breakthrough on the emotive issue to call a snap election.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jun 21, 2014
Population woes crowd Japan
Holding Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's demographic red line will be difficult unless Japan opens the door to immigration, a step policymakers have no intention of taking.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Jun 20, 2014
'Patriotic wives' few in number — but loud
One by one, women take the microphone near the crowded Hachiko crossing in Tokyo's Shibuya shopping district on a hot and humid weekday, denouncing the pacifist Constitution, blasting China's "recklessness" and mocking the South Korean flag.
Japan Times
JAPAN
May 11, 2014
Constitution revision vital: Abe adviser
The idea that Japan can improve its security without dropping a long-standing ban on aiding friendly countries under attack is a miracle that just won't happen, the acting head of an advisory panel to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe said.
Japan Times
BUSINESS
Apr 27, 2014
Sealing TPP deal by May iffy despite Japan-U.S. 'milestone'
Tokyo and Washington are close to forging a two-way trade deal, but that doesn't mean a breakthrough on the broader TPP will be imminent in May.
JAPAN
Mar 10, 2014
Defense talks with U.S. look at 'gray zone' clash scenarios
As Japan and the United States start talks on how to respond to armed incidents that fall short of a full-scale attack on Japan, officials in Tokyo worry that their ally is reluctant to send China a strong message of deterrence.
Japan Times
JAPAN / Politics
Feb 17, 2014
Abe put Japan on back foot in global PR war with China
Japan is losing its global PR war with China because it can't muzzle its nationalist leaders, hide their revisionist agendas or stop them from visiting Yasukuni Shrine.

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