Contractor in building scandal donated money to LDP
December 23, 2005A contractor which built one of several structurally defective buildings based on false data submitted by former architect Hidetsugu Aneha donated a total of 10.5 million yen to an organ of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party over seven years up to 2...
Aso seeks delayed consumption tax hike
December 23, 2005A bill to raise the consumption tax should be presented to the Diet no earlier than 2008 because spending needs to be slashed first, Foreign Minister Taro Aso told the Nihon Keizai Shimbun in an interview Friday. This is the first time that Aso, w...
Japan, U.S., others offer U.N. budget compromise
December 23, 2005Japan, the United States and other nations put forward a compromise Thursday which could end a budget impasse at the United Nations as the countdown to a deadline approaches. The proposal that the two countries, along with Canada, Australia and Ne...
Budget for new war memorial scrapped
December 23, 2005Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi said Thursday he has decided not to appropriate outlays in the fiscal 2006 budget for a feasibility study for the construction of a new war memorial, saying it is necessary to take more time to consider the contenti...
Tanigaki disagrees with Koizumi over consumption tax issue
December 23, 2005Finance Minister Sadakazu Tanigaki said Thursday he sees it as "extremely difficult" to restore Japan's debt-laden finances by cutting expenditures alone, alluding to his desire to raise the consumption tax as early as fiscal 2007. Tanigaki's comm...
LDP's Yamasaki to visit China
December 23, 2005Former Liberal Democratic Party Vice President Taku Yamasaki will leave Tokyo on Jan 7 for a six-day round of calls to China, Malaysia, Singapore and Indonesia for talks with leaders in those countries, his aides said Thursday. Yamasaki, who is re...
Australia's Howard voices opposition to whaling
December 23, 2005Australian Prime Minister John Howard said Thursday that despite the close ties between Australia and Japan, he once again raised his opposition to Japanese whaling during bilateral talks with Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi last week. Howard tol...
Ex-cabinet member Ito fails to declare Y59 mil donation
December 23, 2005Veteran politician Kosuke Ito failed to declare 59.64 million yen in political donations which he received from a Tokyo-based political organization between 1990 and 2002, informed sources said Thursday. The office of the Liberal Democratic Party...