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COMMENTARY
Sep 12, 2002

Brave trip to settle the past

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's one-day visit to North Korea on Sept. 17 is likely to have a profound effect on the security situation in Northeast Asia. The two nations started normalization talks in 1991, but thus far no substantial progress has been made because of the alleged abduction of Japanese...
BUSINESS
Sep 11, 2002

Budget requests total 86.78 trillion yen

Requests for the fiscal 2003 general account budget from government ministries and agencies stand at 86.78 trillion yen, up 6.8 percent from the initial budget for the current fiscal year, the Finance Ministry said Tuesday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 10, 2002

Making Japan's voice heard

Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi is doing a good job -- much better than expected. She has made few blunders since she assumed the post Feb. 1, aside from the trouble over the inept bureaucratic handling of the Shenyang Japanese Consulate incident involving North Korean asylum seekers.
BUSINESS
Sep 7, 2002

Key economic gauge shows expansion

Japan's key gauge of the state of the economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent in July for the sixth consecutive month, the government said Friday in a preliminary report.
JAPAN
Sep 7, 2002

Upcoming meeting with Kim a ratings winner for Koizumi

The public approval rating for the Cabinet of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi stood at 53.9 percent this week, up 8.7 percentage points from a month ago, according to a Kyodo News survey released Friday.
JAPAN
Sep 5, 2002

Koizumi may invite Kim to visit Japan

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi may invite North Korean leader Kim Jong Il to Japan when he visits Pyongyang on Sept. 17, a top government spokesman said Wednesday.
BUSINESS
Aug 28, 2002

Postal panel narrows options

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's private advisory panel on postal services agreed Tuesday to propose three options for privatizing the services in its final report to be compiled in early September.
JAPAN
Aug 27, 2002

Efforts afoot to protect whistle-blowers

OSAKA -- Recent years have seen more and more whistle-blowers come forward to expose corporate wrongdoing, often to their own personal career detriment.
COMMENTARY
Aug 27, 2002

Build alternative to Yasukuni

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's visit to Yasukuni Shrine in April inflamed Beijing, casting a chill on Japan-China relations. The row forced Koizumi to cancel a visit to Beijing he had planned for this fall to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the normalization of Japan-China diplomatic relations....
JAPAN
Aug 17, 2002

Japan proceeds with spy satellite plan despite U.S. concerns

Japan's plan to deploy reconnaissance satellites to monitor military movements in East Asia will get off the ground in November, when the Cabinet Satellite Information Center starts up the system's nerve center in Tokyo.
BUSINESS
Aug 17, 2002

Key economy gauge bumped up to 80%

The government has revised upward the June reading for the key gauge of the current state of Japan's economy from 77.8 percent to 80 percent, the Cabinet Office said Friday.
JAPAN
Aug 10, 2002

Seniors willing to pay more, rely on children less: poll

Elderly people are more willing to pay their own way rather than rely on their children or the social security system, but their financial worries are mounting, according to a Cabinet Office survey released Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 10, 2002

Business confidence surges as exports, production rise

Business confidence showed a dramatic quarter-on-quarter improvement in the April-June period due to a pickup in exports and production, according to a government report released Friday.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2002

View of economy watchers grim

The average view of the economy among those with jobs sensitive to consumer sentiment worsened in July for the third straight month as household spending took a beating from falling summer bonuses, a government survey showed Thursday.
BUSINESS
Aug 9, 2002

State upgrades assessment of machinery orders

The government on Thursday slightly upgraded its assessment of core private-sector machinery orders after these orders rose a seasonally adjusted 2.9 percent in June from May and grew 7.1 percent in the April-June period from the previous quarter.
JAPAN
Aug 8, 2002

Achievement awards to be gender-neutral

The government said Wednesday it will simplify the ranks of honors it gives individuals for distinguished achievement and make them gender-neutral to try to improve the system.
BUSINESS
Aug 8, 2002

Shiokawa pushes tax-cut plan

Finance Minister Masajuro Shiokawa said Wednesday he wants to introduce tax cuts over three years and offset expected revenue shortfalls with tax hikes over five years.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2002

Key gauge shows continuing expansion

Japan's key gauge of the economy stayed above the boom-or-bust line of 50 percent for the fifth month in a row in June, thanks to continued robustness in output-related indicators, the government said Monday in a preliminary report.
BUSINESS
Aug 6, 2002

Investors shy away from markets

Most Japanese remain hesitant about investing in stocks, investment trusts or bonds, and only an economic recovery will spur them to participate in the financial markets, according to a government survey.
JAPAN
Aug 6, 2002

Koizumi OKs framework for '03 budget requests

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Monday basically approved the Finance Ministry's final draft of the budget request framework for fiscal 2003. The plan calls for a 2 percent cut in discretionary spending, which includes overseas aid, and a 3 percent reduction in public works outlays.
BUSINESS
Aug 3, 2002

Koizumi seeks prudent budget requests

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi told his ministers Friday to strictly screen their budget requests for fiscal 2003 because of the government's austerity policy, the top government spokesman said.
JAPAN
Aug 2, 2002

Private-sector leader urged for postal entity

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday that the public corporation that will take over the state-run postal service operations in April should be headed by someone from the private sector.
JAPAN
Aug 1, 2002

Koizumi censure motion voted down

The House of Councilors voted down a nonbinding censure motion against Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday during the final throes of the six-month Diet session that ended later in the day.
BUSINESS
Jul 31, 2002

Fukuda says no plans yet for extra fiscal 2002 budget

The government has no plans at present to draft a supplementary budget for fiscal 2002, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Jul 26, 2002

Move to slash foreign aid sparks strong opposition

A government advisory panel submitted to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Thursday a final report on official development assistance policy criticizing the administration's moves to slash ODA spending under its reform drive.
JAPAN
Jul 24, 2002

Koizumi slams 'amakudari' gravy train

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi ordered his Cabinet ministers Tuesday to take steps to halt "amakudari," the practice of senior bureaucrats retiring early to join government-affiliated organizations as highly paid executives, because of the corruption that can result.
BUSINESS
Jul 24, 2002

Japan stocks weathering U.S. downturn: ministers

Japanese stocks are showing resilience despite the ongoing plunge in U.S. share prices, key economic ministers in Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Cabinet said Tuesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Jul 19, 2002

Suzuki aide pleads not guilty to bid-rigging charge

An aide to indicted lawmaker Muneo Suzuki pleaded not guilty Thursday to charges of rigging bids for a government-funded project on Russian-held Kunashiri island.
JAPAN
Jul 18, 2002

Government denies media report of plans for ODA agency

The government denied a media report Wednesday that Foreign Minister Yoriko Kawaguchi is considering the creation of an agency outside her ministry to chiefly handle issues related to official development assistance.

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