TOKYO REPORT: MOF Sets Up Compliance Panel to Regain Trust

December 26, 2018

Tokyo–The Ministry of Finance has set up a “compliance promotion panel” to regain public trust lost after a series of scandals including alternations to ministry records related to a controversial state land sale to private school operator Moritomo Gakuen. In

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Japan Sees Record 3,451 Sediment Disasters in 2018

December 26, 2018

Tokyo – The number of sediment disasters in Japan in 2018 totaled 3,451, the highest level since statistics began in 1982, the land ministry said in a preliminary report on Wednesday. Of the total, 2, 581, or About 74 Pct,

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Abe Urges Keidanren to Raise Pay

December 26, 2018

Tokyo–Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe on Wednesday urged the Japan Business Federation, or Keidanren, to increase wages in next year’s “shunto” labor-management negotiations in spring. “I’d like to ask you to carry out wage hikes to make the Japanese economy’s

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FOCUS: Will Japan’s Decision to Quit IWC Pay Off?

December 26, 2018

Tokyo–In its decision to quit the International Whaling Commission and resume commercial whaling, announced on Wednesday, Japan prioritized the protection of whaling as part of the nation’s traditional culture over its response to international antipathy toward the hunting of the

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Australia, New Zealand Criticize Japan’s Exit from IWC

December 26, 2018

Sydney–Australia and New Zealand on Wednesday expressed their disappointment at Japan’s decision to withdraw from the International Whaling Commission to resume commercial whaling. Australia is “extremely disappointed” at the Japanese decision, Foreign Minister Marise Payne and Environment Minister Melissa Price

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Japanese Icebreaker Shirase Reaches Showa Base in Antarctica

December 26, 2018

Tokyo–The Japanese icebreaker Shirase has reached the country’s Showa Station research base on Antarctica, the science ministry said Wednesday. Around 8:25 p.m. on Tuesday Japan time (11:25 a.m. GMT), the ship berthed at a point some 500 meters from the

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210 Teachers Punished for Sexual Offenses in Japan

December 26, 2018

Tokyo–A total of 210 teachers at public schools in Japan were disciplined for sexual offenses in fiscal 2017, which ended in March, according to an education ministry survey. The number fell 16 from the record high marked the previous year,

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BOJ Members Called for Attention to U.S.-China Row: Minutes

December 26, 2018

Tokyo–Several Bank of Japan policymakers at their meeting in late October called for attention to U.S.-China trade friction, according to minutes of the meeting, released by the central bank on Wednesday. Although the effects of the U.S.-China tensions on Japan’s

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