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BUSINESS
Nov 30, 2005

State lenders to be whittled to one

The government and ruling Liberal Democratic Party agreed on a plan Tuesday to create a single public lender by scrapping one, privatizing two and integrating the remaining five.
EDITORIALS
Nov 29, 2005

Grand coalition with hazy prospects

A grand coalition headed by Ms. Angela Merkel, the leader of the Christian Democratic Union (CDU), has taken over the reins of government in Germany from the seven-year-long administration of Mr. Gerhard Schroeder of the Social Democratic Party (SPD). In the general election held in September, the center-right...
COMMENTARY
Nov 28, 2005

Yasukuni impasse cracking

Since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi took office in 2001, Japan has faced diplomatic spats with China and South Korea over his visits to Yasukuni Shrine. On Oct. 17, Koizumi made his fifth Yasukuni visit as prime minister, as Japan's relations with the two neighbors soured.
Japan Times
Features
Nov 27, 2005

Too much of a good thing

Humans are wholly dependent on nature's cornucopia for food, clothing, shelter, many medicines, beer and wine -- to name just a few of life's essentials and pleasures.
BUSINESS
Nov 26, 2005

State severs talks with localities on subsidy cutbacks

The central government broke off talks Friday with local government representatives on ways to decentralize fiscal authority, brushing off local-level opposition to proposed cuts in welfare subsidies.
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Abe backs Defense Agency upgrade

Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe on Thursday supported the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's recent decision to try to turn the Defense Agency into a ministry.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 25, 2005

Zebari urges extension of GSDF deployment

Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari on Thursday urged his Japanese counterpart, Taro Aso, to keep the Self-Defense Forces troops deployed to Samawah, a Foreign Ministry official said.
EDITORIALS
Nov 24, 2005

A frustrating trip for Mr. Bush

Heads of state travel either to get a respite from domestic problems or to get photo opportunities that make them look like leaders. By those standards, U.S. President George W. Bush must be frustrated by his recently concluded eight-day Asia tour. He neither escaped increasingly contentious and bitter...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 23, 2005

LDP, at 50, goes after Constitution

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi pledged Tuesday to put the nation on a reform path to meet the challenge of a rapidly changing world, and to this end presented his party's blueprint to amend the Constitution for the first time to bring the charter in line with global realities.
BUSINESS
Nov 22, 2005

State financial entities to shrink from eight to one

The government and ruling coalition have agreed in principle on the goal of consolidating eight governmental financial institutions into a single entity, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Monday.
EDITORIALS
Nov 19, 2005

An emerging picture of growth

Japan's economy in the July-September quarter expanded 0.4 percent from the previous quarter, or 1.7 at the annualized rate, in price-adjusted real terms, according to a preliminary gross domestic product (GDP) report from the Cabinet Office. That was the fourth consecutive quarter of positive growth,...
COMMENTARY
Nov 19, 2005

Hail parliamentary democracy

LONDON -- The British House of Commons' Nov. 9 rejection by 31 votes of the government's proposal that terrorist suspects could be held without trial for up to 90 days was a salutary reminder to Prime Minister Tony Blair that Parliament is not a rubber stamp organization even if he can normally command...
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2005

War criminals, war dead same: Abe

The government should not look into the responsibility of the accused Class-A war criminals honored at Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine and instead count them among the nation's 2.46 million war dead, Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said Wednesday.
JAPAN
Nov 17, 2005

30 billion yen extra-budget eyed for asbestos victims

The government will propose that 30 billion yen be allocated in the fiscal 2005 supplementary budget to redress asbestos victims not eligible for workers compensation, sources said Wednesday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 16, 2005

Princess Nori ties knot, now Mrs. Kuroda

After a year of traditional preparations and rites, Princess Nori married Tokyo Metropolitan Government employee Yoshiki Kuroda on Tuesday morning as Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko observed their only daughter's last moment as a member of the royal family.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2005

Tower exhibit adds weight to public debt

If you were to stack up 10,000 yen bills equal to the value of the country's estimated public debt in 2005 of 773 trillion yen, the pile would easily reach the stratosphere, according to a government-sponsored exhibit set to open at the Tokyo Tower.
JAPAN
Nov 15, 2005

Action plan for bird flu includes ban on gatherings

The Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry unveiled a plan Monday empowering the government to ban public gatherings and quarantine people to counter the potential outbreak of a new strain of bird flu against which humans have yet to develop an effective defense.
JAPAN
Nov 14, 2005

Koizumi could visit N. Korea again

There is a 50-50 possibility that Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi will visit North Korea again before he leaves office next September, Taku Yamasaki, former vice president of the Liberal Democratic Party, said Sunday.
COMMENTARY
Nov 14, 2005

Enhanced order of security

Japan and the United States on Oct. 29 issued an interim report agreeing to expand military cooperation in connection with the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan. The agreement is intended to adapt the bilateral alliance to better deal with changes in the security environment in the Asia-Pacific region....
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2005

Government denies reaching decision on GSDF pullout

The government on Friday denied a newspaper report that it might pull the Ground Self-Defense Force contingent out of Iraq by September.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2005

Ex-SMBC chief tapped to lead key postal firm

The government said Friday it has selected former Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. President Yoshifumi Nishikawa to run the holding company that will oversee the privatization of the postal system.
JAPAN
Nov 12, 2005

July-September 0.4% rise ups GDP for four quarters

Domestic demand nudged the economy forward in the July to September quarter, tallying 0.4 percent growth in real terms, for an annualized rate of 1.7 percent, the Cabinet Office said Friday.
JAPAN
Nov 11, 2005

Panel takes aim at soaring medical benefits

The government and the ruling bloc formed a panel Thursday to discuss ways to curb growing fiscal spending on medical care benefits as the population ages and to draw up legislation by next year.
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2005

Half-year Iraq duty extension urged

The Ground Self-Defense Force reconstruction assistance mission in Iraq needs to be extended by at least six months past its Dec. 14 expiration, a government source has said.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Nov 10, 2005

Lawmakers discuss secular war memorial

Lawmakers launched a nonpartisan group Wednesday to consider building a secular war memorial to help resolve the controversy over Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's contentious visits to Tokyo's Yasukuni Shrine.
BUSINESS / JAPANESE PERSPECTIVES
Nov 7, 2005

LDP fiscal policy report laudable in balancing tax hike, spending cuts

An interim report compiled Oct. 24 by the Liberal Democratic Party's study group on fiscal reform has drawn public interest as an indicator of the future direction of fiscal policy b the ruling party and the government.
JAPAN
Nov 6, 2005

Koike pledges to push carbon tax to meet goals under Kyoto Protocol

to understand that the tax does not hurt the economy," she said. "I want to explain the need for the tax to the public." As another measure to tackle global warming, the government staged the "Cool Biz" campaign last summer to promote lighter clothing in offices to reduce use of air conditioners. Koike...

Longform

Construction takes place on the Takanawa Gateway Convention Center in Tokyo, slated to open in 2025.
A boom for business tourism in Japan?