January 08, 2013
Next week, trials will start across the nation concerning the gap in the value of a vote between the most and the least populous Lower House constituencies. Lawsuits seeking nullification of the results of the Dec. 16 Lower House election have been filed in 34 single-seat electoral districts.
January 07, 2013
Nearly 100 years ago, the saga of a territorial dispute began over the Aland Islands in the northern part of the Baltic Sea.
January 05, 2013
Let us reflect on the state of democracy in this nation.
January 04, 2013
The first domestically produced passenger jet is set to take off as early as this autumn.
January 03, 2013
To the 214 first-year students at Kagawa Prefectural Takamatsu-Kougei High School:
January 02, 2013
What are the key challenges confronting Japan today? What kind of future should Japan seek to craft for itself? These are two favorite topics for TV talk shows and newspaper editorials for the New Year.
December 31, 2012
Revelations that Mitsubishi Electric Corp. overcharged the government for many years on defense and space contracts have brought to the fore the shocking depth of problems in these industries.
December 29, 2012
As soon as he took office as minister of economy, trade and industry under Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's newly inaugurated government, Toshimitsu Motegi said on Dec. 27 that he will completely re-evaluate the previous administration's ban on building new nuclear reactors that are currently at the planning phase.
December 28, 2012
Incidents involving firearms as well as attacks on citizens by members of organized crime groups remain rampant in Fukuoka Prefecture. Three “specific crime syndicates” have been designated by the authorities as being particularly heinous, the first time this has happened in Japan.
December 27, 2012
After more than three years of the trouble-plagued government led by the Democratic Party of Japan, newly elected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party now face the challenge of restoring stability in the nation’s politics.
December 26, 2012
Former trade minister Banri Kaieda was elected the new leader of the Democratic Party of Japan in the party presidential election on Dec. 25.
December 25, 2012
Incoming Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has said the defining theme for his administration, to be inaugurated this week, will be pulling the Japanese economy out of deflation.
December 24, 2012
Liberal Democratic Party President Shinzo Abe has begun moves to repair relations with South Korea.
December 22, 2012
The Nuclear Regulation Authority has said that the Higashidori nuclear power plant operated by Tohoku Electric Power Co. in Aomori Prefecture sits on faults that are probably active.
December 21, 2012
South Korea will soon be led by its first female president, Park Geun-hye of the ruling Saenuri Party. In the presidential election held on Dec. 19, she defeated her opponent, Moon Jae-in of the Democratic United Party.
December 20, 2012
Shinzo Abe, president of the victorious Liberal Democratic Party and prime minister in waiting, is pressing the Bank of Japan to adopt bold monetary easing policy.
December 19, 2012
Following their big gains in the Dec. 16 Lower House election, the Liberal Democratic Party and New Komeito agreed on Dec. 18 to compile a large-scale supplementary budget after establishing a coalition government later this month.
December 18, 2012
The Democratic Party of Japan, which suffered a ruinous defeat in the Dec. 16 Lower House election, must have learned from its traumatic experience how difficult and harsh it is to govern the nation.
December 17, 2012
The Dec. 16 Lower House election again demonstrated the tremendous ability of the single-seat constituency system to drastically change the political landscape overnight.
December 15, 2012
On Dec. 13, an airplane belonging to China's State Oceanic Administration intruded into Japanese airspace over the disputed Senkaku Islands. This is a highly provocative act that could lead to an armed conflict between the two countries.