Search - cabinet

 
 
JAPAN
Oct 6, 2005

Lump-sum asbestos redress elusive goal

The government agreed Sept. 29 on the outline of a special bill to help asbestos victims, but officials admit the legislation provides no lump sum compensation.
BUSINESS
Oct 6, 2005

Japan hopeful beef imports can resume

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi expressed hope Wednesday that North American beef imports will resume as a move in that direction emerged the day before in the government's independent mad cow panel.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005

High courts not on same page on Yasukuni visits

Last week's conflicting high court rulings on Prime Minister's contentious visits to Yasukuni Shrine showed that the judicial system of the world's second-largest economy is sharply divided on the politically sensitive issue.
BUSINESS
Oct 5, 2005

Bureaucratic workforce to face 10% cut over five years

The government said Tuesday it will cut the number of national-level civil servants by 33,230, or at least 10 percent of the total as of the end of fiscal 2004, over the next five years, officials said.
JAPAN
Oct 5, 2005

Bill OK'd to extend MSDF's mission

The administration Tuesday endorsed a bill that would extend for one more year the antiterrorism law allowing the Maritime Self-Defense Force to refuel U.S.-led coalition vessels in the Indian Ocean.
EDITORIALS
Oct 1, 2005

Teach our children well

The nation's boards of education have finished their selection of textbooks to be used at junior high schools from April 2006 for the next four years. The process gained widespread attention because among the candidate textbooks was a controversial revisionist history textbook published by Fusosha Publishing...
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2005

State asbestos inaction blamed on 'red tape'

Bureaucratic red tape hindered Japan from taking a more aggressive stance against asbestos use in the past, the government said Thursday.
JAPAN
Sep 30, 2005

'Cool Biz' popular enough for another try

The sight of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi in an open-collar shirt was much more familiar this month than in June, when the government kicked off the "Cool Biz" casual-dress campaign for reducing air-conditioner use.
JAPAN
Sep 29, 2005

Government shaves civil servants' salaries 0.1%

The government decided Wednesday to cut the annual salary of civil servants by an average of 4,000 yen, or 0.1 percent, in the current fiscal year through next March, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said.
JAPAN
Sep 28, 2005

LDP OKs bill to extend antiterror law

The Liberal Democratic Party approved a bill Tuesday to extend the special counterterrorism law for another year, keeping the Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Indian Ocean to provide fuel to the U.S.-led naval forces there.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 27, 2005

Koizumi resumes reform drive in Diet policy speech

Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi relaunched his reform offensive Monday, vowing to "boldly scale down" government by privatizing the postal services, cutting personnel costs and reforming state-backed financial institutions.
BUSINESS
Sep 27, 2005

Big firms' confidence up again

Business confidence at large companies rose in the July-September period for the second straight quarterly improvement, reflecting the economic recovery and the completion of inventory adjustments in the information technology sector, the government said Monday.
COMMENTARY
Sep 26, 2005

Underwhelmed in Okinawa

Most of the Japanese political community is all agog over the overwhelming victory of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's Liberal Democratic Party in the Sept. 11 Lower House election. Okinawa Prefecture is the exception.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 23, 2005

LDP OKs postal reform; dissent a notable no-show

The Liberal Democratic Party on Thursday unanimously endorsed the hotly contested postal privatization bills that triggered the Sept. 11 general election.
EDITORIALS
Sep 22, 2005

Social assistance for crime victims

To become the victim of a crime is a tragic experience that can cause lasting physical, psychological or financial damage. In the past, crime victims and their family members have not received much help from society. Last December, however, the Diet passed the Basic Law for Crime Victims, which recognizes...
JAPAN
Sep 21, 2005

Chemical shells recovered in China

A Japanese weapons disposal team has recovered about 1,000 artillery shells, including 281 armed with chemicals, left in China by the Imperial Japanese Army at the end of World War II, the Cabinet Office said Tuesday.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2005

DPJ picks Maehara for top spot

The Democratic Party of Japan elected young conservative Seiji Maehara as its new president Saturday, passing over veteran former party leader Naoto Kan after suffering a devastating defeat in the House of Representatives election last week.
JAPAN
Sep 18, 2005

Visa waivers for Taiwan to be made permanent

Taiwanese tourists visiting Japan for up to 90 days will be given visa waivers in a bid to promote tourism and other exchanges between the two countries.
Japan Times
Sep 17, 2005

Kan to again seek DPJ helm

Former Democratic Party of Japan leader Naoto Kan announced Friday he will run for the DPJ helm, following Seiji Maehara's decision the previous day to also run.
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2005

Japan nixes North's demand for reactor

Japan will not accept Pyongyang's demand for a light-water nuclear reactor because it would be used to produced atomic weapons, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Thursday.
Japan Times
JAPAN
Sep 16, 2005

Ozawa might throw hat into ring for DPJ chief

Democratic Party of Japan heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa suggested Thursday he might run for the party presidency when the vote is taken Saturday, after the resignation of Katsuya Okada over the DPJ's huge setback in Sunday's general election.
EDITORIALS
Sep 15, 2005

No victory for the Philippines

Impeachment charges against Philippines President Gloria Arroyo have been dismissed. The move is a relief for the embattled president, but it is no real vote of confidence in her or her administration. The move reflects the balance of power in the legislature, not a consideration of the merits of the...

Longform

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