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15 Stories

February 2008
- Looking for a Real Recession? Try Japan
  
  Washington Post | Feb 2, 08 3:18 PM CST
  
  (Newser) - While economists squabble over a possible US recession, Japan has quietly slipped into one. The country’s postwar riches have all but vanished, the Washington Post reports, as its GDP tumbles from fourth to twentieth among the world’s countries and its share of the world’s economy dips from 18% in 1994 to below 10% in 2006. More »
  
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  Japan • recession • unemployment • Toyota • manufacturing • GDP • Yasuo Fukuda • Shinzo Abe • foreign investment • Japanese economy • Japanese auto industry • Junichiro Koizumi
September 2007
- Fukuda Steps In as Japan's PM
  
  BBC | Sep 25, 07 5:11 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda, the 71-year-old son of a former Japanese prime minister, has now taken the top job himself after winning a parliamentary election. The new leader of the dominant Liberal Democratic Party bagged 338 votes in the lower house, 100 votes more than the majority he needed, the BBC reports. More »
  
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  Japan • Yasuo Fukuda • Shinzo Abe • Ichiro Ozawa
- Fukuda to Be Japan's Next Prime Minister
  
  BBC | Sep 23, 07 6:40 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Moderate lawmaker Yasuo Fukuda has beaten out hawkish former foreign minister Taro Aso in a ruling party vote for the leader of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party, paving the way for his appointment as prime minister. Former PM Shinzo Abe vacated the post following a series of mistakes and scandals. Fukuda, the dovish son of a previous prime minister, won 63% of the vote. More »
  
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  Yasuo Fukuda • Shinzo Abe • Taro Aso
- New Japanese PM Likely to Be Less US-Centric
  
  Star (Malaysia) | Sep 19, 07 9:30 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Japan's Liberal Democratic Party is set to choose its replacement for Shinzo Abe, who resigned suddenly last week, in voting Sunday. The winner will become prime minister Tuesday. Although early prognoses hyped hawk Taro Aso as the favorite, his close association with the outgoing PM has hurt him. Victory is almost assured for his opponent, the 71-year-old chief cabinet secretary Yasuo Fukuda. More »
  
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  Japan • United States • Yasuo Fukuda • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party • Taro Aso
- Japanese PM Hospitalized as Party Scrambles for Successor
  
  Associated Press | Sep 13, 07 8:37 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Japanese PM Shinzo Abe is in a Tokyo hospital battling stress and exhaustion a day after announcing his resignation. Abe is expected to be hospitalized for at least three or four days, while his scandal-plagued party fields a replacement and calls for a general election escalate. In his surprise announcement, Abe set no date for his departure. More »
  
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  Japan • resignation • hospital • stress • Tokyo • Shinzo Abe • exhaustion
- Same Party, New Face: Aso Likely to Step in as Japanese PM
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 13, 07 3:32 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Fellow party member and Foreign Minister Taro Aso is emerging as the favored successor of resigned Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe. If elected, Aso would face an economy saddled with the world's largest public debt, the stagnation of his own Liberal Democratic Party and the enmity of the main opposition party. More »
  
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  Japan • resignation • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party • Taro Aso
- Nikkei Falls After Abe Steps Down
  
  Bloomberg | Sep 12, 07 7:21 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A jump in the price of copper boosted mining and energy stocks in Asia, but Japan's Nikkei index fell nonetheless after news hit of PM Shinzo Abe's resignation. Some investors say the change will be good for Japanese markets in the longer term, however. "Abe was an ineffective prime minister who didn't do anything of value for investors," says a Singapore-based strategist. More »
  
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  Japan • stocks • Asian markets • Nikkei • Shinzo Abe
- Japanese Prime Minister Resigns
  
  Associated Press | Sep 12, 07 1:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe has announced he'll resign today in the wake of several cabinet-level scandals and the suicide of a top official that has destroyed public confidence in his administration. After taking power just last year, Abe's nationalist Liberal Democratic Party lost the upper house of parliament to the opposition party in July. More »
  
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  Iraq war • Japan • resignation • Asia • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party
- Japanese PM Backtracks From Hints He'll Quit
  
  BBC | Sep 10, 07 7:14 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Shinzo Abe has backed off his threat to quit if Japan yanks aid to US-led troops in Afghanistan. Many clamored for the beleaguered PM to step down after his party’s defeat in July elections, and Abe hinted yesterday that he'd walk away—a possible indication that he was looking for a respectable out, the BBC reports. More »
  
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  Afghanistan • Japan • resignation • Shinzo Abe • Democratic Party of Japan
August 2007
- Japanese PM Axes Minister, Clings to Job
  
  Reuters | Aug 1, 07 4:35 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Embattled Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, whose party suffered a devastating election loss this past weekend, fired his scandal-ridden agriculture minister today in an effort to clean up his administration's image. But Abe still refuses to step down. "I take the results of the election seriously," he said. "But we must not create a political vacuum." More »
  
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  Japan • election • corruption • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party
- New Party in Japan Prompts US Anxiety
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Aug 1, 07 1:41 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - The ruling party’s losses in Japanese elections last week are causing worry in the White House and the Pentagon, says the Financial Times . An anti-terror measure that that has allowed Japanese ships to refuel American vessels is set to expire in November, and the Democratic Party of Japan is threatening to use its newfound control of the upper house to veto its renewal. More »
  
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  Japan • White House • election • Pentagon • Shinzo Abe • Democratic Party of Japan
July 2007
- Japanese PM Refuses to Pack It In
  
  Financial Times (UK) | Jul 30, 07 4:59 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe will keep his job despite a humiliating defeat for his ruling party in Sunday's election, party officials said today. Only 10 months into his term, Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party lost their majority as voters reacted to a series of government scandals. Now government gridlock looms as the entering party clashes with the embattled leader. More »
  
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  Japan • election • scandals • voters • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party
- Japan Election Results Spell Big Trouble for PM
  
  Reuters | Jul 29, 07 8:46 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Shinzo Abe's scandal-plagued administration suffered a possible death blow today as his coalition lost its majority in the upper house of the Japanese parliament, but the beleaguered PM vowed to remain on the job. Although Abe's Liberal Democratic Party dominates the lower chamber, the opposition can stall legislation in the upper house, effectively freezing the government, Reuters reports. More »
  
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  Japan • election • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party • Democratic Party of Japan
June 2007
- Pension Flub Could Doom Japanese PM
  
  Economist | Jun 14, 07 1:31 PM CDT
  
  (Newser) - A pension scandal rocking Japan threatens to bring down the ruling party, and it could take PM Shinzo Abe with it. Sixty-four million pension payments—in a country of 130 million—have gone missing, and that's riling Japan's growing gray-haired population. The pensioners may pay Abe back with a vote for the opposition in next month's elections, reports the Economist . More »
  
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  Japan • scandals • Social Security • Shinzo Abe • pensions • Liberal Democratic Party
May 2007
- Scandal-Plagued Japanese Minister Dead
  
  Bloomberg | May 28, 07 8:48 AM CDT
  
  (Newser) - Facing questioning in an investigation of political contributions, the Japanese agriculture minister hanged himself at his Tokyo home today. Toshikatsu Matsuoka had refused calls to resign or explain reports of financial improprieties, but embattled PM Shinzo Abe had stood by him. Abe faces a serious challenge to his Liberal Democratic Party's majority in July parliamentary elections. More »
  
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  Japan • election • scandals • suicide • Shinzo Abe • Liberal Democratic Party