Japan
Corruption allegations against Tanaka intensify factional warfare in Japan
By James Conachy, April 11, 2002
The corruption allegations levelled on April 4 against former Foreign Minister Makiko Tanaka, who Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sacked from the cabinet on January 30, mark a new turn in the faction...
Official figures show: Japan in worst postwar recession
By Joe Lopez, March 18, 2002
International Monetary Fund (IMF) managing director Horst Koehler last week gave an upbeat assessment of the world economy claiming recession had been avoided and recovery was on its way. Much still r...
Thumbs down on latest Japanese economic package
By Joe Lopez, March 7, 2002
Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi’s anti-deflation package released last week has not been well received in financial and political circles. It is considered to fall far short of demands for a ra...
Bush visit to Japan cements closer ties against China
By James Conachy, March 1, 2002
The three-day visit to Tokyo by George Bush last week was used to consolidate Japan’s support for a policy of “containing” China and to secure its diplomatic and military participati...
Koizumi promises a plan as debt problems deepen
By Joe Lopez, February 26, 2002
In the lead-up to the visit by US president Bush last week, the Japanese government called for a plan to address the problem of deflation and bad debts in the banking system. But no one believes that ...
Share market fall deepens Japan’s banking crisis
By Joe Lopez, February 14, 2002
Japan’s benchmark share index, the Nikkei 225, plummeted to its lowest level in 18 years earlier this month, driven down by fears over the viability of some Japanese banks.
Dismissal of Japanese foreign minister may spark political turmoil
By James Conachy, February 5, 2002
Populist foreign minister Makiko Tanaka’s dismissal from the Japanese cabinet last week augurs a new round of factional in-fighting within the ruling Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and a realign...
Japan heads into deflationary spiral
By Joe Lopez, January 30, 2002
With Japan moving into its third recession in 10 years there are growing fears that the world’s second largest economy is being dragged into a deflationary spiral of falling prices and profits.
Economic hardship afflicts Japanese working class
By James Conachy, January 14, 2002
Unemployment in Japan is at its highest level for more than 50 years. In a country with a harsh welfare system, a pervasive stigma against those who seek state assistance, and a media and political es...
Japan militarisation accelerates after sinking of alleged North Korean spy ship
By James Conachy, January 9, 2002
The Japanese Coast Guard’s sinking of an alleged North Korean spy ship last month has accelerated Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi administration’s push for an end to the postwar limitatio...
Japan moves into recession as credit rating cut again
By Joe Lopez and Nick Beams, December 10, 2001
Japan has once again moved into recession—the third in the last decade and the second in the last three years. Figures released on Friday showed that the economy had contracted by 0.5 percent in...
Japan’s trade surplus plummets
By Joe Lopez, November 2, 2001
Japan’s Ministry of Finance announced last week that the country had recorded the largest fall in its trade surplus for more than 20 years, highlighting the increasing decline of the world&rsquo...
