Japan’s Prime Minister, Yoshihiko Noda, has called a general election on December 16, slightly more than a year after taking office. This is part of a bargain made by Noda with the main opposition parties in exchange for support in passing legislation, including a deficit financing bill and electoral reforms, that Noda deems necessary...
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Japan’s economic situation fails to improve. A year-on-year drop of 3.5% in the gross domestic product (GDP) is causing a headache for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s government. Though there are possible partial solutions, many of Japan’s woes are outside the control of the government and the fiscal authorities. TOKYO (majirox news) — Japan’s economy...
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Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda reshuffled his cabinet on Oct. 1, hoping to bring unity within his own party and improve the party’s chances in an election, expected to be held in the next few months. He has appointed a senior party official as finance minister, and a high-profile political figure to another important...
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China and Taiwan angrily reacted to Japan’s bid to purchase five uninhabited islands in the East China Sea. Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said the central government is negotiating the sale of three of the islands from the current Japanese owners. It was in response to a similar plan by Tokyo’s Governor Shintaro Ishihara in...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Tens of thousands of people waved signs and chanted “NO Nukes” on June 29 outside Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s official residence. This demonstration, almost unprecedented in Japan and organized through the Internet, came after the shareholders of Japan’s private electricity utilities voted on June 27 to continue with the operation...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — China and Japan are fighting over a tiny group of islands, which are 1,900 kilometers (1,200 miles) southwest of Tokyo, in the East China Sea between Taiwan and Okinawa prefecture. China even cancelled a visit to Japan of its top military leader in May, and ignored Prime Minister Noda at...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — The long-standing debate over the US forces stationed in the island prefecture of Okinawa took a new turn. Japanese Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba recently announced that the plan proposed by the US in February would not be implemented. As part of a revised strategy to redeploy US forces in Japan,...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — Japan has been cleared for the first time to buy 10.3 billion dollars worth of Chinese government bonds. Unlike many other countries, China does not allow foreign investors to freely purchase its debt, but requires purchasers to be approved by Beijing. According to Japanese Finance Minister Jun Azumi, Japan had...
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Japan seeks better ties with Russia TOKYO (majirox news) — Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda congratulated Vladimir Putin, Russian President-elect, on his election victory on Monday. In their five-minute conversation, Noda also said that he wants to improve his country’s ties with Russia. However, yesterday Noda said he would only sign a peace treaty...
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TOKYO (majirox news) — An overwhelming number of Japanese want nuclear power abolished and do not support Prime Minister Yosihiko Noda’s government; yet, the same people believe that the consumption tax should be raised, according to a poll taken by the Asahi Shimbun and published Feb. 14. The Asahi called households Feb. 11 and...
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