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japan: news and opinion

Latest stories from New York Times 


18 Mar 10 visit Japan Eases Monetary Policy to Fight Deflation The Japanese government has urged the monetary authorities to stimulate the economy further by flooding the banking sector with cash.
14 Mar 10 visit World Briefing | ASIA: Japan: Finance Official Reveals Secret Payment to U.S. Japan’s finance minister said that an investigation revealed that Tokyo had secretly agreed with Washington to shoulder extra costs of Okinawa’s 1972 return to Japan beyond the $320 million stipulated in a treaty.
12 Mar 10 visit Tokyo Journal: Rough Time at School for Japan’s Little Princess Adds to Royal Family’s Woes The bullying of the 8-year-old daughter of Princess Masako has put the princess’s history of depression into the glare of Japan’s tabloid press.
10 Mar 10 visit Novel Idea for Japan: Airport for Budget Travel Ibaraki Airport, which opens Thursday about 85 kilometers, or 52.7 miles north of Tokyo, aims to be a completely new type of Japanese hub.
09 Mar 10 visit Japan Drops Denial of Cold War ‘Treaties’ The agreements were made public in the United States years ago, but until recently the Japanese government had denied their existence.
08 Mar 10 visit News Analysis: U.S. Reaches Out to Tokyo’s Real Power At a time of turmoil in Washington’s ties with Japan, diplomats have been negotiating a visit to Washington by Ichiro Ozawa, the man widely seen as really running the country.
04 Mar 10 visit Japan Offers New Plan in Okinawa Dispute The proposal would modify a 2006 deal to relocate the Futenma Marine Corps air station to a less populated area in Okinawa, and the new base would be smaller.
02 Mar 10 visit Growing Criticism of Toyota Feeds Fears of Antagonism Toward Japan Some press commentary in Japan has said Toyota was being unfairly punished by an administration eager to bolster the fortunes of the Detroit carmakers.
02 Mar 10 visit Japan Jobless Rate Falls Below 5 Percent Japan’s unemployment rate fell to 4.9 percent in January, but analysts expect the recovery in job conditions to remain slow in the coming months.
28 Feb 10 visit Japan Breathes Sigh of Relief as Tsunami Passes Nearly a half million people in Japan were ordered to higher ground on Sunday, but only small waves appeared, and there were no reports of damage.
25 Feb 10 visit Once Mighty Party Falls, and Worries Grip Japan Thrust into the role of opposition party, and with its number of lawmakers cut in half by last August’s defeat, the Liberal Democrats appear demoralized.
24 Feb 10 visit Toyota Sees Growing Anger From Suppliers in Japan Once reflexively loyal, Toyota’s suppliers are now increasingly critical of the company, which has come to represent the rendering of Japan’s social contract.
20 Feb 10 visit Japan Plans to Ignore Any Ban on Bluefin Tuna Japan will not join in any agreement to ban the international trade in Atlantic bluefin tuna under the United Nations treaty on endangered species, its fisheries officials said.
15 Feb 10 visit Japan’s Economy Grew 4.6% in Last Quarter of ’09 Economists still forecast that growth will slow this year and that Japan is likely to be overtaken by China as the world’s second-largest economy, behind the U.S.
09 Feb 10 visit World Briefing | Asia: Japan: Official Says He’ll Keep Job Japan’s most influential political leader, Ichiro Ozawa, said that he would keep his formal job as the No. 2 leader of the governing Democratic Party after prosecutors decided not to charge him in a financing scandal.
04 Feb 10 visit Prius Adds to Toyota’s Woes as Stock Drops in Tokyo As Japanese officials ordered an inquiry into problems with the brakes on the 2010 Prius, Toyota’s stock price dropped almost 5 percent in early trading Thursday.
03 Feb 10 visit Power Broker in Japan to Escape Charges The kingpin of Japan’s governing party appears likely to avoid charges in a political funding probe, but it remains less clear whether he will still be forced to step down.
30 Jan 10 visit The Saturday Profile: Japan’s Elder Statesman Is Silent No Longer The election defeat last year of his political party and the victor’s work so far has prompted Yasuhiro Nakasone to speak up.
24 Jan 10 visit Okinawa Mayor-Elect Opposes U.S. Base A candidate who opposes a planned U.S. air base on Okinawa won a crucial mayoral election, raising pressure on Japan’s prime minister to move the base off the island.
24 Jan 10 visit With Japan, U.S. May Be Losing Some Diplomatic Ground to China Experts say Japan’s willingness to engage Beijing reflects a broad rethinking of Japan’s role in the region at a time when the U.S. is showing signs of decline.
24 Jan 10 visit Power Broker in Japan Denies Charges The political kingpin of Japan’s governing party, Ichiro Ozawa, vowed to stay in his position despite a financing scandal that is hurting his party’s election prospects.
22 Jan 10 visit Local Vote Could Decide Japan Base Issue A seemingly minor mayoral election could, in an indirect way, have major consequences for the United States’ ties with Japan, its most important Asian ally.
21 Jan 10 visit China on Path to Become Second-Largest Economy If China keeps up an 8.7 percent growth rate, it will likely replace Japan as the world’s second-largest economy this year.
19 Jan 10 visit News Analysis: In Japan’s Scandals, a Clash of Old Order and New The investigation into possible political finance irregularities at the governing party has become a symbol of changing times.
19 Jan 10 visit Japan Airlines Files for Bankruptcy Japan Airlines filed for bankruptcy protection on Tuesday, Japan’s state-backed turnaround agency said.
16 Jan 10 visit New Arrests in Japan Fund Raising Scandal Prosecutors arrested two former aides of a leading member of Japan’s ruling party on Friday, adding to a growing scandal over campaign finance.
15 Jan 10 visit Japan Ends Naval Support for Afghan War Japan halted its eight-year refueling mission in support of the war in Afghanistan that the government saw as an example of following the United States too closely.
13 Jan 10 visit Political Power Broker’s Tokyo Office Raided Prosecutors searched the office of Ichiro Ozawa as part of an investigation into reports of more than $4 million in improperly reported political funds.
13 Jan 10 visit Diplomatic Memo: Clinton Tries to Defuse Asian Tension Asia has emerged as a diplomatic hornet’s nest for the United States, even beyond the perennial threat of North Korea, with strains in Japan and China.
12 Jan 10 visit Investors Sell as JAL Tries to Decide Its Next Step Shares in Japan Airlines fell 45 percent as investors rushed to sell even as American and Delta Airlines battled for a stake in the Japanese carrier.
12 Jan 10 visit Clinton, Starting Trip, Acknowledges Possible Tensions With China The secretary of state spoke as she began a trans-Pacific trip; she will meet with Japan’s foreign minister and give a speech on American security strategy in Asia.
09 Jan 10 visit News Analysis: Change in Japan a Tough Task for Finance Minister Analysts see the appointment of Naoto Kan as finance minister as a sign of the new prime minister’s desire to change the way Japan is governed.
07 Jan 10 visit Japan Replaces Ailing Finance Minister Deputy Prime Minister Naoto Kan, who has little fiscal experience, will succeed Hirohisa Fujii and face spiraling public debt and a fading economic recovery.
06 Jan 10 visit Survivor of 2 Atomic Bombs Dies at 93 Tsutomu Yamaguchi was the only official survivor of both the atomic blasts to hit Japan in World War II.
05 Jan 10 visit Japanese Finance Minister Awaits Health Check Results Hirohisa Fujii, Japan’s finance minister, said he was waiting for test results before deciding whether he will leave his post.
02 Jan 10 visit Paris, Milan, Tokyo. Tokyo? Tokyo’s clothing designers are cutting-edge and are frequently imitated, but their markets have remained mostly domestic.
02 Jan 10 visit Heads Up: Happy 1,300th to Nara, Japan The ancient city is preparing to celebrate its history in style with a yearlong festival.
02 Jan 10 visit For Some in Japan, Home Is a Tiny Plastic Bunk The cubicles of capsule hotels, built for salarymen who missed the train home, are becoming a last resort for the unemployed in Japan.
02 Jan 10 visit Wendy’s Shuts Doors in Japan The fast-food chain, third-largest in the United States, said it could re-enter Japan if it found a suitable new partner.
31 Dec 09 visit Japan Unveils Plan for Growth, Emphasizing Free Trade in Asia The plan calls for creation of new jobs and economic expansion of at least 2 percent a year over the next decade.
26 Dec 09 visit Japan to End Cherry Blossom Season Forecasts Japan’s weather agency said Friday it would stop forecasting the start of cherry blossom season, an annual headache that has embarrassed forecasters in the past.
25 Dec 09 visit A Record Budget Stirs Debt Worries in Japan The scale of new spending could renew investor jitters about the government's burgeoning debt.
25 Dec 09 visit Ex-Aides’ Scandal Nags Japan’s Leader Two former aides were indicted on charges of falsely reporting campaign donations, forcing Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama to make a televised apology over the type of corruption he has pledged to end.
22 Dec 09 visit Rough Ride for Hatoyama After Landslide Election A growing deficit, a spat with Washington, a campaign finance investigation and broken promises: Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama’s first 100 days in office in Japan have been anything but smooth.
19 Dec 09 visit Doubts Grow in Japan About Premier Amid Money Scandal Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama was reportedly preparing to tell prosecutors that he had no direct role in a campaign finance scandal.
18 Dec 09 visit At Japanese Cliffs, a Campaign to Combat Suicide A retired policeman has devoted the last five years on a mission to stop people drawn to the towering cliffs of Tojimbo, Japan, to commit suicide.
17 Dec 09 visit Japan Delays Decision on Moving U.S. Marine Base The government delayed until next year a decision on whether to pursue changes in an accord on the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa.
15 Dec 09 visit Japan Is Said to Delay Decision on U.S. Base The government delayed until next year a decision on whether to pursue changes in an accord on the relocation of a U.S. military base on Okinawa.
09 Dec 09 visit Japan to Give a Plan on Okinawa Base Japan’s prime minister said Wednesday that he wants to present concrete proposals to President Barack Obama next week in hopes of ending a growing rift over an American military air base.
09 Dec 09 visit Japan Suspends Talks Over American Air Base The suspension of talks over relocating a United States air base on Okinawa is a sign of renewed disagreement over an issue in an increasingly rocky relationship between Tokyo and Washington.

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