| May 16 | Meeting between Yonekura, Chinese minister canceled |
| A planned meeting between Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) leader Hiromasa Yonekura and Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi has been canceled, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday. (Yomiuri) |
| May 15 | Gov't to accept price hike for F-35; each jet to cost over 10 billion yen |
 The Japanese government agreed May 14 on plans to accept a price hike on Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth jets that it will buy from the U.S. as next-generation fighters.
(Mainichi  ) |
| May 15 | Okinawa marks 40 years since return to Japan |
 The tropical island chain of Okinawa on Tuesday marked 40 years since U.S. occupying forces returned it to Japan, as locals readied to protest against the continued American military presence there. (Japan Today ) |
| May 15 | Protest over Tokyo Uygur gathering |
| Beijing on Monday lodged strong protest over Tokyo's permission for the separatist World Uygur Congress meeting to be held in Japan, and slammed Uygur separatist Rebiya Kadeer's visit to the Yasukuni Shrine. (China Daily) |
| May 15 | Japan assembly agrees to restart reactors, hurdles remain |
 The local assembly in a Japanese town that hosts a nuclear plant agreed on Monday it was necessary to restart two off-line reactors, its chairman said, the first such nod since all the country's stations were halted after the Fukushima crisis. (Reuters ) |
| May 14 | 50 Osaka city bureau officials sport tattoos despite ethics code |
| About 50 employees in the Osaka city government's Environment Bureau said in a survey they have tattoos, despite an ethics code that frowns on such body decorations, according to sources. (Yomiuri) |
| May 14 | Ozawa speaks against consumption tax hike |
 Ichiro Ozawa, former president of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, has stressed anew his opposition to the government's plan to raise the consumption tax rate. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 13 | China, SKorea, Japan try to ease NKorea tensions |
 The leaders of China, South Korea and Japan said Sunday that they will work together to try to calm tensions on the Korean peninsula. The three largest East Asian economies also took steps toward deepening their economic ties by laying the groundwork for a regional free trade area. (kfvs12.com ) |
| May 13 | Japan grants visa to Uighur leader Kadeer |
| Tokyo has issued an entry visa to Rebiya Kadeer in readiness for next week's World Uyghur Congress, a Japan-based Uighur organisation said Friday, provoking the ire of Beijing. (AFP) |
| May 13 | Thousands march as Japan shuts off nuclear power |
| Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the switching off of the last of their nation's 50 nuclear reactors Saturday, waving banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (BusinessWeek) |
| May 11 | 90% of national pension funds offered jobs to ex-officials |
| As of March, 159 former officials of the Health, Labor and Welfare Ministry and the now-defunct Social Insurance Agency had landed postretirement jobs, including executive posts, at nearly 90 percent of national pension funds nationwide, according to a ministry survey. (Yomiuri) |
| May 10 | Govt presses U.S. to stick to F-35 price |
| The government wants the United States to stick to its initial price offer for the F-35 stealth fighter to be introduced by the Air Self-Defense Force, Chief Cabinet Secretary Osamu Fujimura said Wednesday. (Yomiuri) |
| May 09 | Japan to take over Tepco after Fukushima disaster |
 Tokyo Electric Power Co, Japan's biggest utility and the owner of the devastated Fukushima nuclear plant, will be taken over by the government after the country's trade minister on Wednesday approved a $12.5 billion capital injection. (Reuters ) |
| May 09 | Prosecutors appeal Ozawa's acquittal to Tokyo High Court |
 Three lawyers acting as prosecutors in the recently concluded trial of former Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa said Wednesday they will appeal his acquittal in the political funding case.
(Japan Today ) |
| May 09 | DPJ decides to lift Ozawa's suspension |
 The ruling Democratic Party of Japan officially decided Tuesday to reinstate former party leader Ichiro Ozawa as a member, effective on Thursday.
At a Standing Officers Council meeting, the DPJ decided to lift the suspension of Ozawa's membership after he was found not guilty last month of falsely reporting political funds. Ozawa was suspended in February 2011.
(Yomiuri ) |
| May 06 | 'Hidden children' of politicians no hurdle to success |
| Democratic Party of Japan kingpin Ichiro Ozawa was acquitted last week of conspiring to file false financial reports for his political group. He can now return full-time to the job he was elected to do, but the sense you get from the mainstream media is that he's through as a politician. (Japan Times) |
| May 05 | Thousands march as Japan switches off last nuclear reactor |
 Thousands of Japanese marched to celebrate the last of this nation's 50 nuclear reactors switching off Saturday, shaking banners shaped as giant fish that have become a potent anti-nuclear symbol. (USA Today ) |
| May 05 | Take immediate action on Imperial issues |
| The government is being urged to expedite efforts to draw up a draft bill to revise the Imperial House Law, focusing on issues that have to be immediately resolved. Experts who attended the recent government hearing were divided over the establishment of female branches of the Imperial family, but they seemed to concur on two points. (Yomiuri) |
| May 04 | Japan seeks F-35 buy |
 Japan has asked the United States for four F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Conventional Take-Off and Landing aircraft with options for 38 more planes.
(UPI ) |
| May 04 | Japan, South Korea urge no more North Korea 'provocations' |
| Japan and South Korea urged North Korea on Wednesday to refrain from any new "provocations", amid concern the secretive Asian state will soon conduct a new nuclear test. (Reuters) |
| May 03 | Donations roll in for Senkaku purchase plan |
 The Tokyo metropolitan government said Wednesday donations are pouring in to help finance its planned purchase of some of the Senkaku Islands, also claimed by China, from a private owner.
The metropolitan government received a total of 76,007,211 yen over five days starting from Friday, when it started soliciting donations, officials said. (Yomiuri ) |
| May 03 | Japan urges Israel 'patience' on Iran sanctions |
| apan's Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has urged Israel to exercise "patience" on Iran's nuclear programme and give sanctions a chance to work, his spokesman said on Wednesday. (AFP) |
| May 03 | In search of Romney's Japan policy |
| How would a Mitt Romney administration handle Japan? It's no surprise that China dominates the presumptive 2012 Republican presidential nominee's views of Asia, as it does President Barack Obama's. The chief position paper on Mr. Romney's website on the region is titled "China & East Asia." (Wall Street Journal) |
| May 02 | 3 Chinese warships sail through Kagoshima strait |
 Three Chinese Navy warships sailed through the Osumi Strait off Kagoshima Prefecture and into the Pacific, the Defense Ministry said Monday.
The warships--two frigates and an intelligence-gathering ship--were spotted at around noon Sunday by a Maritime Self-Defense Force patrol plane about 430 kilometers west of Yakushima island, Kagoshima Prefecture, according to the ministry.
(Yomiuri ) |
| May 01 | Obama, Japan's Noda hail security alliance after bilateral meeting |
 President Obama on Monday reaffirmed the United States' defense commitment to Japan, calling the relationship the "linchpin" of security in the Far East. (Washington Post ) |
| May 01 | In Osaka, the man who should be king |
 "Fascist," "dictator," "populist," "mountebank," "militarist," "Hitler" and even "Putin." Toru Hashimoto, the mayor of Osaka, has been called many things during his startling ascent onto Japan's political scene. What explains such vitriol? Largely it's a sign Mr. Hashimoto is doing something right. (Wall Street Journal) |
| May 01 | U.S., Japan still mulling regional trade pact: Obama |
 President Barack Obama on Monday voiced support for Japan joining talks with the United States and eight other countries on a free trade agreement in the fast-growing Asia Pacific region, but said no final decision had been made. (CNBC ) |
| May 01 | The return of Japan's shadow shogun |
| The return of Japan's "shadow shogun", Ichiro Ozawa, from apparent political oblivion following his acquittal on last Friday on charges that he conspired with former aides to make false financial statements on his personal political fund, will test Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's political - or more accurately, survival - skills to the limit. (Asia Sentinel) |
| Apr 30 | Noda goes to Washington - Japan-U.S. Summit expected to produce Asia-Pacific realignment |
| The Washington DC summit between Japanese Prime Minister Noda and US President Obama, which will take place between April 29 ann May 2, is expected to reveal a re-ordering of relations in the Asia-Pacific region. (majirox news) |
| Apr 30 | Cabinet polling at new record low of 26% |
| Public support for Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's Cabinet has tumbled to a record low of 26.4 percent, compared with 31.6 percent last month, a Kyodo News poll said Sunday. The weekend poll also said that over 60 percent of the public believes Noda should replace the land and defense ministers, following the passage of nonbinding censure motions against them by the Upper House earlier this month. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 29 | China dismisses Japan's shelf claim |
 China on Saturday dismissed Japan's claim of UN backing in its extension of continental shelf, saying that Japan's claim was baseless.
Japanese media reported that Japanese government officials on Saturday welcomed the backing of the UN Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf for the country's claim that the seabed north of the Okinotori atoll is part of its continental shelf.
(China Daily ) |
| Apr 29 | Obama to discuss security, economy with Japanese leader |
| President Barack Obama will host Japanese Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda this weekend in Washington, DC, where they will discuss a variety of issues ranging from regional and international security concerns to the global economy. (rttnews.com) |
| Apr 29 | LDP drafts conservative revisions to Constitution |
| The Liberal Democratic Party has compiled new proposals for revising the Constitution that more strongly reflect its conservative agenda, including one that would allow the Emperor to be called head of state. (Japan Times) |
| Apr 29 | Ozawa prosecution mulls appeal |
| Following the not-guilty ruling in the trial against former Democratic Party of Japan President Ichiro Ozawa, the focus has shifted to whether lawyers serving as prosecutors in the case will appeal the outcome. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 28 | U.N. OKs Japan's claim to extend continental shelf in Pacific |
 The U.N. commission on seabed claims has adopted a recommendation allowing Japan to extend its continental shelf areas in the western Pacific, government officials said Saturday.
The U.N. Commission on the Limits of the Continental Shelf has recognized around 310,000 square kilometers as part of Japan's continental shelf, equivalent to about 82 percent of the country's total land area, the officials said.
(Mainichi ) |
| Apr 28 | Law to amend postal privatization enacted; share sales deadline removed |
| The Diet on Friday enacted a bill to amend the law on privatizing the nation's postal services. The law previously required Japan Post Holdings Co. to sell all equity stakes in its two wholly owned financial units--Japan Post Bank and Japan Post Insurance Co.--by the end of September 2017. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 27 | U.S. to remove 9,000 Marines from Japanese island of Okinawa |
| About 9,000 U.S. Marines stationed on the Japanese island of Okinawa will be moved to the U.S. territory of Guam and other locations in the Asia-Pacific, including Hawaii, under a U.S.-Japan agreement announced Thursday. (USA Today) |
| Apr 27 | Ozawa's statements 'inconsistent, astonishing' |
 In October 2009, The Yomiuri Shimbun ran a story about a suspicious land deal by Ichiro Ozawa's political funds management body, Rikuzan-kai. In the 2-1/2 years since, I have been paying close attention to remarks by the former Democratic Party of Japan president.
(Yomiuri ) |
| Apr 27 | Japan aid a balance in Southeast Asia: Analysts |
| Japan recently announced a pledge of $7.4 billion for the lower Mekong countries, including Cambodia. Analysts say this could be a bid to balance the growing power of China in a region that has become more important to US foreign policy. (VOA News) |
| Apr 27 | ASDF has record 156 scrambles in FY11 against Chinese planes |
| The number of scrambles by Air Self-Defense Force fighter jets in response to Chinese planes in fiscal 2011 reached a record 156, up 60 from the previous year, the Defense Ministry has announced. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 26 | Japan's 'shadow shogun', veteran politician Ichiro Ozawa, cleared of fraud |
 Japanese political kingpin Ichiro Ozawa has been cleared of fundraising fraud charges.
The 69-year-old veteran once dubbed the "shadow shogun" is now expected to step up his destabilisation campaign against current Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda and his allies.
(The Australian ) |
| Apr 26 | Gov't to study cremation of emperor, empress at their request |
 The government will study the possibility of cremating Emperor Akihito and Empress Michiko after they die at their request in a departure from the long-held tradition of burying deceased imperial family members in the earth, a senior Imperial Household Agency official said Thursday.
(Mainichi ) |
| Apr 26 | Thousands in Japan protest Asia Pacific trade pact |
 Thousands of farmers rallied in Tokyo on Wednesday against an Pacific-wide free trade pact as Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda's prepares for a visit to the United States.
Noda had reportedly been looking to announce Japan would become a full-fledged participant in talks on framing the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) during his trip to Washington next week.
(brecorder.com ) |
| Apr 25 | OECD chief: Japan needs nuclear power |
| The head of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development urged Japan on Tuesday to resume nuclear electricity generation despite public opposition. Nuclear power supplied almost a third of the country's electricity needs before the disaster and OECD Secretary General Angel Gurria said on a visit to Japan: "You cannot substitute 30 percent of installed capacity overnight." (AFP) |
| Apr 24 | Can Tokyo learn from the American political 'matsuri'? |
 If the U.S. election race conjures up images of mud flying through the air for many Japanese, campaigning politicians in the Land of the Rising Sun evoke visions of a more white-gloved affair.
Japan's politics are as Machiavellian as anyone else's behind closed doors, but their public campaigns are demure compared to the United States -- and many in Tokyo are aghast at the negative campaign tactics used on the road to the White House.
(CNN) |
| Apr 23 | Ozawa signals effort to reclaim DPJ power |
| Ichiro Ozawa, former president of the Democratic Party of Japan, is signaling his intention to regain political influence by increasingly appearing in the media and holding meetings with close aides. (Yomiuri) |
| Apr 22 | Japan to write off Myanmar debt in thumbs-up for reform |
 Japan will write off billions of dollars in debt owed by Myanmar and restart development loans, the leaders of the two countries said on Saturday, in a further move to end the Southeast Asian nation's isolation and strengthen its nascent democracy.
The agreement to waive 303.5 billion yen ($3.72 billion) debt and overdue charges was reached during President Thein Sein's visit to Tokyo, the first by a Myanmar head of state in nearly three decades, signaling its steady return to the international fold after decades of brutal military rule.
(Reuters ) |
| Apr 21 | Japan pledges $7.4 billion aid to Mekong nations |
 Japan pledged 600 billion yen ($7.4 billion) in development aid to support infrastructure projects in five Southeast Asian nations that share the Mekong River.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda, who met with the leaders of Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos and Myanmar today in Tokyo, expressed appreciation for their self-help efforts, particularly Thailand's contributions to the development of the Mekong region through bilateral and regional frameworks, according to an official statement issued after the summit.
(Bloomberg ) |
| Apr 21 | 81 lawmakers visit Yasukuni ahead of festival |
 A total of 81 Diet members visited Yasukuni Shrine on Friday, one day before the controversial Tokyo institution starts its annual Reitaisai spring festival.
One participant, Takashi Morita of Kokumin Shinto (People's New Party), is parliamentary secretary of general affairs in the Democratic Party of Japan-led government, but no Cabinet ministers joined the visit.
(Japan Times ) |
| Apr 21 | North sees Japanese wives as leverage |
| North Korea appears to be considering using home visits by Japanese women who moved to the isolated state with their Korean husbands in a 1959-1984 repatriation project as leverage to improve relations with Tokyo. (Japan Times) |