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COMMENTARY
May 5, 2001

Koizumi tidal wave may crest

The past 10 days have been a tumultuous period in Japanese politics. I refer, of course, to the series of events from the resignation of former Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori to the election of Junichiro Koizumi as Liberal Democratic Party president and prime minister and the inauguration of the Koizumi...
EDITORIALS
Mar 14, 2001

No more secret funds

The criminal complaint filed in January by the Foreign Ministry against the former official in charge of logistics for VIP trips overseas has led to his arrest on a charge of fraud. An internal investigation has revealed that Mr. Katsutoshi Matsuo, who was fired in January for embezzlement, had swindled...
JAPAN
Mar 3, 2001

Vote on Mori set for Monday

The opposition camp agreed Friday to jointly submit a no-confidence motion against Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's Cabinet on Monday morning, in the hope of securing the upper hand in the ongoing battle to remove the unpopular leader.
JAPAN
Feb 6, 2001

Embassies said to have fingers in pie

The Japanese embassies of countries officially visited by the prime minister customarily received part of the so-called secret funds controlled by the Cabinet Secretariat as a "bonus" for their services, informed sources said Monday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2001

Receipts on secret diplomacy funds may have been improperly scrapped

The prime minister's office may have scrapped receipts for expenses paid with secret Cabinet Secretariat funds that a former Foreign Ministry diplomat at the center of an embezzlement scandal received from the office, government sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Feb 5, 2001

Receipts on secret diplomacy funds may have been improperly scrapped

The prime minister's office may have scrapped receipts for expenses paid with secret Cabinet Secretariat funds that a former Foreign Ministry diplomat at the center of an embezzlement scandal received from the office, government sources said Sunday.
JAPAN
Jan 31, 2001

Scope of embezzlement probe widens

Tokyo police investigating the alleged embezzlement of government VIP travel funds broadened their inquiry and questioned a senior Foreign Ministry official who was once based at the Cabinet secretariat and involved in the fund's operation, sources close to the investigation said.
COMMENTARY
Jan 26, 2001

Plagued by scandal yet again

Fukushiro Nukaga was forced to resign Tuesday as minister for economic and fiscal policy over allegations that he received 15 million yen from the mutual-aid organization KSD in return for favors. Nukaga denied accepting the money himself but admitted that one of his secretaries had received it. He said...
EDITORIALS
Jan 24, 2001

Putting bureaucrats in the back seat

The Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy, an advisory panel to the Cabinet Office, is the highlight of the Jan. 6 government reorganization. The high-powered council, which includes private advisers, cuts across ministerial lines. It represents part of a comprehensive attempt to shift the policymaking...
JAPAN
Dec 23, 2000

Sanctions eased for Iraq, Yugoslavia

Japan has decided to partially ease economic sanctions against Iraq for humanitarian reasons and lift sanctions against Yugoslavia due to democratic reforms there, Foreign Minister Yohei Kono said Friday.
BUSINESS
Dec 22, 2000

Mori taps tech sector for IT advice

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has informally selected 10 people, including Sony Corp. Chairman Nobuyuki Idei, as members of his new team of Cabinet advisers for the government's information technology drive, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda said Thursday.
COMMENTARY
Dec 16, 2000

An isolated government clings to power

The United States and Japan are plagued by political chaos. The fierce U.S. presidential race ended in victory for George W. Bush after the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on the recounting of disputed ballots in Florida. In Japan, a disturbingly wide gap exists between the fragile support Prime Minister Yoshiro...
JAPAN
Dec 6, 2000

LDP approves three top positions

The ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Tuesday formally appointed Makoto Koga as its secretary general and Kanezo Muraoka as chairman of the Executive Council, while approving Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's decision to retain Shizuka Kamei as policy affairs chief.
JAPAN
Nov 3, 2000

Mori says he is 'humbled' by dismal approval ratings

Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori said Thursday he "humbly" accepts the low approval ratings of his Cabinet in recent media polls and repeated his determination to promote ongoing economic stimulus policies and continue to support the information technology revolution.
JAPAN
Oct 28, 2000

Pyongyang plan better unsaid: Fukuda

Newly appointed Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda hinted Friday that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori should not have revealed to British Prime Minister Tony Blair a proposal made in 1997 to Pyongyang concerning Japanese allegedly kidnapped by North Korea.
JAPAN
Oct 18, 2000

Government admits Mori met with 'messenger'

The government admitted Tuesday that Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori has met a Korean journalist alleged to have delivered a secret letter from Mori to North Korean leader Kim Jong Il in August.
JAPAN
Oct 7, 2000

Japan to give Pyongyang rice aid despite kidnap claims

The government on Friday officially announced plans to send 500,000 tons of rice as additional food aid to North Korea.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000

Rain-aided coalition cruises toward victory

Amid lower-than-expected voter turnout, the Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling triumvirate appeared to have secured at least a simple majority in the Lower House in the general election held Sunday, exit polls show.
JAPAN
Jun 26, 2000

Coalition wins a stable majority

The Liberal Democratic Party-led ruling triumvirate suffered a major setback but managed to secure a comfortable majority in the Lower House in Sunday's general election.
COMMENTARY
Apr 7, 2000

New leader, same policies

Yoshiro Mori, who replaced a comatose Keizo Obuchi as prime minister, inaugurated his Cabinet April 5. The Obuchi Cabinet resigned en masse April 4, after Obuchi suffered a stroke and was hospitalized. All Cabinet members, except Obuchi, retained their posts.
JAPAN
Mar 9, 2000

Fall in Obuchi's popularity blamed on recent scandals

Public support for Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's Cabinet has fallen to 41 percent, down 4.6 percentage points from December, an indication of discontent over scandals involving government officials, according to a Kyodo News public opinion survey.
CULTURE / Art
Mar 5, 2000

Treasures of the House of Orange

Four hundred years ago, in spring 1600, a Dutch ship made landfall in Kyushu, the sole survivor of five that had set out on the hazardous journey from Rotterdam two years before.
EDITORIALS
Mar 2, 2000

Gone, but not forgotten

Mr. Joerg Haider, the controversial leader of Austria's Freedom Party, has resigned as head of the party. The move is intended to quiet the firestorm of international criticism that followed the decision to include Freedom in the new coalition government in Vienna. In fact, it changes very little. Although...
COMMENTARY
Jan 22, 2000

Close the bases, start again

Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi's Cabinet deserves praise for changing Japan's policy stance regarding the Japan-U.S. security system. First, the Cabinet recently proposed a 15-year time limit on U.S. use of the facility that would take over operations of the U.S. Futenma Marine Air Station in Okinawa, which...
JAPAN
Oct 15, 1999

Aoki sees coalition gaining public support

Staff writer
COMMENTARY
Jun 4, 1999

Obuchi set for one more term

Following the Diet's enactment last week of a legislative package covering the updated guidelines for Japan-U.S. defense cooperation, the Lower House on Tuesday passed bills that will allow wiretapping in investigations into organized crime. The administration of Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi has thus...
EDITORIALS
Apr 21, 1999

MOF by any other name

The long-running debate over breaking up the Ministry of Finance has ended with a compromise that will keep the ministry more or less as it is -- the most powerful of Japan's government offices. The MOF will be renamed the "Treasury Ministry," and will be charged mainly with fiscal and budgetary affairs,...
JAPAN
Jan 14, 1999

Obuchi puts happy face on minority coalition launch

While the Liberal Democratic Party and Liberal Party will jointly tackle Japan's mounting problems, they will also try to seek support from other parties to stabilize the government, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi said Thursday.
JAPAN
Jan 11, 1999

Nonaka slams Ozawa over televised criticism

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiromu Nonaka on Monday criticized accusations lodged Sunday by Liberal Party leader Ichiro Ozawa that the Liberal Democratic Party is not negotiating seriously enough in ongoing policy talks aimed at forming a coalition.

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