Gov't, ruling parties to slash medical costs
December 18, 2005The government and the ruling coalition decided Sunday to slash medical costs by a record margin of 3.16% in fiscal 2006 by curbing medical service fees and drug expenses, officials said. The cut in the costs covered by public medical insurance pr...
LDP policy chief nixes consumption tax hike
December 18, 2005A top policymaker of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party said Sunday that the consumption tax will not be raised from the current 5% in fiscal 2007. Hidenao Nakagawa, chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council, made the remark in an appearance...
Aso says Japan will deal with past, build better ties with South Korea
December 18, 2005Japan will sincerely deal with issues from the past concerning South Korea and work on further building bilateral relations with a future orientation, Foreign Minister Taro Aso said Sunday. In a statement issued on the 40th anniversary of normaliz...
Sri Lanka rebels reject Japan as venue for peace talks
December 18, 2005Sri Lanka's Tamil rebels on Saturday rejected Japan as a venue for renewed peace talks with the government, insisting that talks should be held in Norway. Answering reporters' questions at his Kilinochchi headquarters in the rebel-held north of th...
Japan welcomes draft WTO text
December 18, 2005Japan on Saturday welcomed the industrial trade part of a fresh draft accord presented at the World Trade Organization ministerial meeting in Hong Kong, as it calls for sharper tariff cuts to the benefit of Japanese manufacturers of industrial items....
Koizumi rides Segway scooter to office
December 18, 2005Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi came to work on a Segway scooter on Friday, enjoying a gift he received a month ago from visiting U.S. President George W Bush in Kyoto. Koizumi rode the two-wheeled stand-up vehicle the roughly 150 meters from his...
FY 2006 budget likely to be capped at Y80 tril
December 18, 2005The Finance Ministry plans to limit the size of the fiscal 2006 general-account budget to about 80 trillion yen, down from 82.18 trillion yen under the fiscal 2005 budget, ministry sources said Friday. The amount of government bonds to be issued i...
Koizumi aide wins libel suit over magazine article
December 18, 2005The Tokyo District Court ordered a publisher and a writer Friday to pay 1.35 million yen in damages to a key aide to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi over a magazine article that said he is virtually taking over Koizumi. Presiding Judge Ryosuke Ya...
Japan, Iran to discuss nuke issue
December 18, 2005Japan and Iran will hold senior working-level talks Sunday in Tehran to discuss various concerns including the Iranian nuclear issue and the situation in neighboring Iraq, Foreign Ministry officials said Friday. The talks, which have been held in...
Okinawa assembly adopts statement opposing Futemma plan
December 18, 2005The Okinawa prefectural assembly adopted a statement Friday opposing the Japan-U.S. plan to relocate the U.S. Marine Corps' Futemma Air Station in Ginowan to the coast of U.S. Camp Schwab in Nago, both of which are located in the southwestern prefect...
Opposition leader Maehara maintains China military is 'threat'
December 18, 2005Opposition leader Seiji Maehara maintained Friday that China's growing military outlays are a threat to Japan. At a session of the two-day annual convention of his opposition Democratic Party of Japan, Maehara reiterated Japan should allow itself to...