Japan
Kan reconfirms intention to step down
Daily Yomiuri Online, 11 August 2011
Prime Minister Naoto Kan on Wednesday reconfirmed he intends to step down when bills to allow the government to issue deficit-covering bonds and promote the use of renewable energy sources are enacted.
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Fukushima to create nuclear-free society through reconstruction
Mainichi Japan, 11 August 2011
Fukushima Prefecture on Thursday adopted a policy to make the creation of a nuclear-free society the centerpiece of its 10-year project to rebuild in the wake of the disaster at a local nuclear power plant crippled by the March earthquake and tsunami.
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Japan's farm group to urge gov't to buy disaster-damaged farmlands
Mainichi Japan, 11 August 2011
The Central Union of Agricultural Cooperatives will urge the government to buy and improve farmlands damaged by the March 11 earthquake and tsunami in northeastern Japan, the union's incoming chairman said in a recent interview with Kyodo News.
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Gov't mulls lowering nuclear workers' radiation exposure limit
Mainichi Japan, 11 August 2011
The labor ministry is considering lowering the exceptionally raised limit for radiation exposure by workers dealing with the Fukushima nuclear crisis as the degree of their exposure is on a declining trend, a ministry official said Wednesday.
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Japan could pick Kan's successor in late Aug.
Mainichi Japan, 10 August 2011
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday he is ready to step down soon after two key bills are passed in parliament, which looks likely by late August.
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Vote disparity widens in lower house election
Mainichi Japan, 10 August 2011
The discrepancy in the value of a vote in House of Representatives districts widened slightly this year, with a vote in the least populous single-seat constituency counting for 2.442 times a vote in the most populous one, a Kyodo News analysis showed Tuesday.
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Law to facilitate nuclear disaster compensation enacted
Mainichi Japan, 03 August 2011
Legislation designed to facilitate compensation to people and businesses affected by the ongoing nuclear disaster was enacted in parliament on Wednesday.
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Nuclear safety agency may be set up under Environment Ministry
Mainichi Japan, 03 August 2011
The government is considering separating the Nuclear and Industrial Safety Agency from the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and merging its functions with a new agency to be created under the Environment Ministry, according to a minister's draft plan revealed Wednesday.
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Govt drafts path to less reliance on nuclear energy
Yomiuri Shimbun, 31 July 2011
A government panel has decided on a draft policy guideline aimed at giving direction to the process of reducing the nation's dependence on nuclear power.
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Government posts online initial radiation maps
Asahi Shimbun, 26 July 2011
The government's nuclear emergency response headquarters on July 24 posted online maps showing the spread of radiation in the first week following the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant accident.
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Child benefits may be cut if after-tax income above 10 million yen
Mainichi Japan, 23 July 2011
Prime Minister Naoto Kan's ruling party, seeking to win opposition cooperation over a key budget-related bill, proposed Friday to cut the amount of child allowances to be paid to families with an annual after-tax income of 10 million yen or more.
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Reconstruction of quake-hit areas could cost gov't 23 tril. yen
Mainichi Japan, 22 July 2011
The Japanese government will need to spend at least 23 trillion yen ($291 billion) on reconstruction projects over the next decade following the March 11 earthquake and tsunami, and is planning to expend around 80 percent of the funds during the first half of the period, officials said Thursday.
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Govt, TEPCO announce new roadmap on N-crisis
The Yomiuri Shimbun, 21 July 2011
The government and Tokyo Electric Power Co. have released a new road map for ending the ongoing crisis at the Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant, which adheres to their initial process chart for trying to achieve a "cold shutdown" of reactors at the crippled facility by January.
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Kan says Japan should aim for nuclear-free society
Mainichi Japan, 14 July 2011
Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Wednesday that Japan should aim for a society that does not depend on nuclear power in the wake of the crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi plant, but denied the possibility of calling for a general election over energy issues.
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Japan's poverty rate climbs to worst on record
Asahi Shimbun, 14 July 2011
Japan's relative poverty rate, or proportion of low-income earners to the total population, grew to 16.0 percent in 2009, according to the 2010 Comprehensive Survey of Living Conditions released July 12 by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
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