Japan
Japan: By-election defeat points to growing crisis of Fukuda government
By John Chan, May 2, 2008
The victory of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) in the lower house by-election for Yamaguchi prefecture on April 26 has delivered a major blow to embattled Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda an...
Japanese government pushes through law to allow naval support for Afghan occupation
By Peter Symonds, January 18, 2008
Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda last Friday used his government’s two-thirds majority in the lower house of parliament to force through legislation restarting Japan’s naval refuelling...
School’s collapse leaves foreign teachers stranded, homeless in Japan
By Eric Des Marais, December 4, 2007
Nova Corporation, Japan’s largest provider of private English and other foreign language education, has collapsed. The company, which at its height comprised over 900 schools, employed over 4,00...
Japan withdraws naval support for US war in Afghanistan
By John Chan, November 6, 2007
Japan’s Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda was forced last week to end the country’s logistical support for the US-led war in Afghanistan. While the immediate reason was the refusal of the opposi...
Japan’s new prime minister: a recipe for another short-lived government
By John Chan, September 26, 2007
Yasuo Fukuda, 71, was installed as Japan’s new prime minister on Tuesday following the resignation of Shinzo Abe after less than 12 months in office. Fukuda, one of the ruling Liberal Democratic...
Japanese prime minister resigns abruptly
By John Chan, September 14, 2007
Less than a year after assuming his post, Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe announced his resignation on Wednesday. His decision comes in the wake of a disastrous result for the ruling Liberal Democr...
Japanese cabinet reshuffle points to deepening political crisis
By John Chan, September 4, 2007
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe reshuffled his cabinet on August 27 in a desperate attempt to prop up a deeply unpopular government. Only five ministers retained their posts. Most of the remaining ...
Japanese government suffers major defeat in upper house elections
By Joe Lopez, August 4, 2007
The defeat of Japan’s ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) in upper house elections on July 29 is a serious political blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who took office just 10 months ago. The ...
Japan’s defence minister resigns over remarks on US dropping of atomic bombs
By John Chan, July 16, 2007
Japan’s defence minister, Fumio Kyuma, resigned on July 3, just three days after he provoked public outrage by declaring that the US “could not help” but drop atomic bombs on Japan i...
Geo-politics and oil: Japanese leader visits the US and Middle East
By John Chan, May 8, 2007
More than six months after assuming power, Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe finally made his first trip to Washington on April 26. He then travelled on to visit five major oil producers in the ...
Abe’s denial of Japan’s wartime sex slavery provokes tensions
By Joe Lopez, April 13, 2007
Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe provoked a wave of international protests by claiming early last month there was “no evidence” suggesting that Japan’s wartime militarist regime co...
Former Japanese PM advises unpopular Abe to ignore public opinion
By John Chan, March 7, 2007
Amid plummetting support in opinion polls for Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, his predecessor Junichiro Koizumi had a word of advice for the incumbent. He told a top-level meeting of the ruli...
