U.N. Security Council mulls proposed sanctions against N. Korea
October 10, 2006The U.N. Security Council held a meeting Tuesday to discuss a draft resolution the United States presented Monday to the council calling for tougher sanctions against North Korea for its claim it has conducted a nuclear test. The draft resolution calls for member states to act under Chapter 7 of the U.N. Charter which opens the way for international economic sanctions as well as military options under the world body.
Ozawa visits Iwojima while LDP presidential election takes place
September 20, 2006Ichiro Ozawa, the leader of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party of Japan, on Wednesday visited Iwojima Island, the scene of fierce fighting at the end of World War II. The visit took place while the ruling Liberal Democratic Party was electing Shinzo Abe as its new leader.
Japan renews determination to support Iraq's reconstruction
September 20, 2006Vice Foreign Minister Shintaro Ito has renewed Japan's determination to help Iraq rebuild itself, extending support for a multilateral initiative designed to help in the war-torn country's economic rehabilitation. ''Japan will work together with Iraq and the international community to ensure the prompt completion of the compact and its swift implementation,'' Ito said in a speech delivered Monday during a meeting of foreign ministers at U.N. headquarters in New York to discuss Iraqi reconstruction.
Japan imposes additional sanctions on N. Korea over missile launches
September 19, 2006Japan imposed financial sanctions Tuesday on North Korea by prohibiting remittances to 15 entities and one individual linked to the North's missile and weapons programs, in line with a U.N. Security Council resolution condemning missile launches by Pyongyang in early July. ''By implementing these measures, we will demonstrate the resolve of the international community, as well as Japan, in line with the U.N. Security Council resolution,'' Chief Cabinet Secretary Shinzo Abe said of the sanctions approved at Tuesday's Cabinet meeting.
Former Komeito chief Ishida dies at 76
September 18, 2006Former Komeito party chairman Koshiro Ishida, who helped establish a coalition government in 1993 which put a temporary end to the Liberal Democratic Party's nearly four-decade monopoly on power, died of pulmonary fibrosis at a hospital in Nagoya, Aichi Prefecture, on Monday morning, his family said. He was 76. Ishida was director general of the then Management and Coordination Agency from August 1993 to June 1994 under the non-LDP coalition governments led by former Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa and former Prime Minister Tsutomu Hata.
IMF to OK voting-share reform package, 4 nations to win bigger quota
September 18, 2006The International Monetary Fund is set on Monday to approve a proposed two-year, two-stage reform package to increase the voting power and influence of emerging economies, IMF officials said. Approval of the proposal, which looks certain to have won the required 85 percent ''yes'' votes from the fund's 184 members, will give immediate increases in voting rights, called quotas, to four symbolically underrepresented nations -- China, South Korea, Mexico and Turkey.
Japan prods China to 'graduate from' World Bank loans
September 18, 2006Japan indirectly urged China on Monday to ''graduate from'' World Bank loans for development because the emerging economic powerhouse has stable access to capital markets and extends credits to lower income countries, most notably African countries in exchange for natural resources. ''Some MICs (middle-income countries) that have been borrowers from the Bank are now getting positioned as lenders and donors to other lower income countries,'' Senior Vice Finance Minister Kazuyoshi Akaba said in an apparent reference to China. ''We strongly urge them to act as responsible members of the international community by collaborating with other lenders and donors and respecting internationally agreed frameworks.''
16 local gov'ts toughen penalties on employees' drunk driving
September 17, 2006At least 16 local governments in Japan have toughened or decided to toughen their rules on punishing employees for drunk driving following a fatal car accident allegedly caused by a drunk Fukuoka City employee last month, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday. Also, 33 local governments are reviewing their rules with an eye to toughening penalties, while five prefectural education boards have decided to toughen their own rules, according to the poll of all prefectures and their capitals as well as government ordinance cities, across Japan, which total 96.
Post-Koizumi regime faces unfinished business on N. Korean issues
September 17, 2006Four years have passed since Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made his first trip to North Korea on Sept. 17, 2002, for a landmark summit with North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, but various pending issues remain to be tackled by the two Asian neighbors. With Koizumi failing to fully settle the issue of North Korea's abductions of Japanese nationals and build beyond the momentum of their 2002 summit to normalize bilateral ties, the post-Koizumi administration, to be formed later this month, will face a careful balancing act in dealing with such issues as the abductions and North Korea's July 5 missile launches.
Taiwan's DPP launches rallies to support Chen
September 16, 2006Taiwan's ruling Democratic Progressive Party staged a large-scale rally in Taipei on Saturday to perk up President Chen Shui-bian's political standing and to counter a growing anti-Chen campaign. An estimated 150,000 people gathered to attend the three-hour rally outside the presidential office.