updated Mon. May 13, 2024
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Nikkei Asian Review
April 29, 2018
TOKYO -- Approval of Shinzo Abe's cabinet languished at 43% in the latest Nikkei/TV Tokyo survey as the Japanese prime minister struggled to get out from under the scandals engulfing his government. The poll conducted between Friday and Sunday showed the cabinet's approval rating essentiallyÃâà...
East Asia Forum
April 29, 2018
Author: Masato Kamikubo, Ritsumeikan University. In 2016, Japan's Ministry of Finance (MOF) sold a piece of government-owned land to Moritomo Gakuen at an exceptionally low price. In March 2018, the Asahi Shimbun scooped the news that 14 documents sanctioning the sale of the land were illicitlyÃâà...
NHK WORLD
April 27, 2018
The Japanese government says it considers it inappropriate to limit the job of reporters to men as a way to prevent sexual harassment. The stance, approved at a Cabinet meeting on Friday, is seen as a dismissal of a reported remark by Finance Minister Taro Aso about a sexual harassment scandalÃâà...
The Diplomat
April 27, 2018
Finance Minister and Vice Prime Minister Taro Aso has defended Fukuda, saying that “it was deeply regrettable he is stepping down over sexual harassment allegations.” The opposition has called on Aso to resign and to take responsibility for appointing Fukuda to the high-ranking position. The Minister forÃâà...
Foreign Policy (blog)
April 26, 2018
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told the Diet on March 29 that his country must “definitely avoid” bilateral negotiations with the United States given the two sides' power imbalance. Trump's original tweet ended with a direct reference to this issue: “[we] are working to make a deal with the biggest of [theÃâà...
The Economist
April 26, 2018
WHEN a female reporter for TV Asahi told Shukan Shincho, a magazine, that Junichi Fukuda, the finance ministry's top bureaucrat, had repeatedly sexually harassed her, the reaction was galling. Taro Aso, the finance minister, said he had no plans to investigate Mr Fukuda. When the reporter providedÃâà...
The Mainichi
April 25, 2018
Meanwhile, members of the government and ruling parties have poured oil on the fire with narrow-minded public statements, deepening the turmoil, and critics have called for Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso's resignation. Regarding the day of the alleged harassment, TV AsahiÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 24, 2018
“It's extremely regrettable that our vice finance minister, who oversees administrative affairs, is stepping down over sexual harassment allegations,” Finance Minister Taro Aso told reporters after a Cabinet meeting. Aso himself has faced increasing calls from opposition parties to take responsibility for havingÃâà...
FXStreet
April 24, 2018
Finance Minister Taro Aso reiterated today he is not considering resigning over the alleged harassment of female journalists by the top bureaucrat of his ministry. Information on these pages contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties. Markets and instruments profiled on thisÃâà...
Nikkei Asian Review
April 24, 2018
Parliament's schedule is already in disarray, with opposition parties refusing to take part in deliberations unless Finance Minister Taro Aso steps down. But some members of the ruling party do not see that as necessary. "Resigning is one way to take responsibility, and uncovering what happened is anotherÃâà...
The Japan News
April 24, 2018
Jiji Press TOKYO (Jiji Press) — The Cabinet on Tuesday approved the resignation of Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda, who last week offered to quit over his alleged sexually harassing remarks. The resignation of Fukuda, 58, deals an additional blow to his boss, Finance Minister Taro Aso, as hisÃâà...
American Journal of Transportation
April 23, 2018
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso told U.S. Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin that protectionism isn't good, adding to tensions over trade policy between the two global economic powers. U.S. and Japan clearly differ on their trade policies, Aso told reporters on Friday in Washington after attending theÃâà...
The Mainichi
April 22, 2018
Regarding the sexual harassment allegations involving Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda, 51 percent said that Finance Minister Taro Aso should resign over the scandal. Those who said Aso should remain at his job were 37 percent. About the government favoritism scandal involvingÃâà...
The Japan News
April 22, 2018
North Korea has continued its nuclear and missile development despite previous dialogues with the international community. For that reason, the prevailing view within the Japanese government about North Korea's moves to totally abandon its nuclear program is one of suspicion. Taro Aso, deputy primeÃâà...
The Mainichi
April 22, 2018
Regarding the sexual harassment allegations involving Administrative Vice Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda, 51 percent said that Finance Minister Taro Aso should resign over the scandal. Those who said Aso should remain at his job were 37 percent. About the government favoritism scandal involvingÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 22, 2018
Japan ramped up its warning over the damage protectionism could inflict on the global economy, with Finance Minister Taro Aso saying this week that inward-looking policies would destabilize markets and benefit no country. Tokyo also sought to play down the rift emerging between Washington and itsÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 21, 2018
In addition, opposition lawmakers have been demanding that Finance Minister Taro Aso step down to take responsibility for sexual harassment allegations involving his deputy, as well as his ministry's manipulation of documents related to a cut-price sale of state land to Moritomo Gakuen, another schoolÃâà...
The Mainichi
April 21, 2018
Finance Minister Taro Aso and other politicians should be taking the initiative in settling the matter, but their responses have fallen one step behind. It appears that both politicians and bureaucrats are desperate to save their own skin and are reluctant to assume responsibility over the confusion. TV AsahiÃâà...
KRQE News 13
April 21, 2018
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, left, and Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso attend the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Governors group photo at World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, in Washington, April 21, 2018. (AP Photo/Jose Luis Magana). IMF says trade tensions, debt load threaten worldÃâà...
The Spokesman-Review
April 21, 2018
U.S. Treasury Secretary Steve Mnuchin, left, and Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso attend the International Monetary Fund (IMF) Governors group photo at World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings, in Washington, Saturday, April 21, 2018. (Jose Luis Magana / Associated Press). By Paul Wiseman and MartinÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 21, 2018
The just-concluded meeting marked the return to the forum of Finance Minister Taro Aso, who sat out the March conference to deal with a cronyism scandal involving a state land sale by his ministry. “No country will benefit from adopting inward-looking policies. If protectionism spreads, there will be lessÃâà...
NHK WORLD
April 21, 2018
Japan's opposition parties will continue to boycott Diet deliberations next week. They are demanding that Finance Minister Taro Aso resign over a series of ongoing scandals. The ruling parties plan to go ahead with deliberations, despite the opposition's boycott. The opposition parties want Aso to takeÃâà...
U.S. News & World Report
April 21, 2018
Japan's Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso arrives at G-20 plenary during the IMF/World Bank spring meeting in Washington, U.S., April ... with his U.S. counterpart Steve Mnuchin on Friday, Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said he conveyed his concern over protectionism and urgedÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 21, 2018
When asked about a complaint from a Japanese TV station that the most senior official at his ministry sexually harassed a reporter, Finance Minister Taro Aso said the font used on the complaint letter was too small. The scandal broke last week when a magazine reported that the official, Junichi Fukuda,Ãâà...
Asahi Shimbun
April 19, 2018
The opposition bloc is calling for Finance Minister Taro Aso to resign after two top officials of the Finance Ministry and National Tax Agency, which he oversees, announced their resignations over their roles in scandals. Proceedings at the Diet could be suspended as the opposition threatens to boycott talksÃâà...
News & Observer
April 19, 2018
Finance Minister Taro Aso has come under attack over his lax oversight of Fukuda and the rest of the ministry whose credibility has been shaken by a questionable state land sale linked to Abe's wife and massive alterations of official documents related to the deal. Another top finance official has resignedÃâà...
The Mainichi
April 18, 2018
Before a regular Cabinet meeting on April 17, Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Seiko Noda talked with Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga and Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Taro Aso over the ministry's probe into the sexual harassment allegations. During their talks, NodaÃâà...
The Straits Times
April 18, 2018
TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's top finance bureaucrat resigned on Wednesday (April 18), Finance Minister Taro Aso said, after a weekly magazine reported that he had sexually harassed several female reporters. Administrative Vice-Finance Minister Junichi Fukuda denied the allegations, published in theÃâà...
Kyodo News Plus
April 18, 2018
The top bureaucrat at Japan's Finance Ministry will step down amid allegations that he sexually harassed female reporters, Finance Minister Taro Aso said Wednesday. Junichi Fukuda will resign less than a year after he assumed the post of vice minister at one of the most powerful government offices in theÃâà...
The New York Review of Books
April 17, 2018
Abe himself and the finance minister, Taro Aso, blamed the subterfuge on a handful of bureaucrats; one, Nobuhisa Sagawa, has resigned. That controversy rumbles on, but this month the central issue of apparent cronyism came to the fore again when the finance ministry disclosed that it had also tried toÃâà...
CNNMoney
April 17, 2018
The United States and Japan trade $200 billion in goods and services each year. It's a vital relationship President Donald Trump wants to overhaul, but Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe isn't so keen. The two leaders are expected to talk about trade and other top issues such as North Korea during Abe'sÃâà...
Nikkei Asian Review
April 17, 2018
Noda has urged Finance Minister Taro Aso and Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga to deal with the allegations carefully. The ministry's actions are "out of step with public perception," said Seiko Hashimoto, head of the LDP caucus in the upper house. "They need to straighten up." "I want them to reflectÃâà...
The New York Review of Books
April 17, 2018
Abe himself and the finance minister, Taro Aso, blamed the subterfuge on a handful of bureaucrats; one, Nobuhisa Sagawa, has resigned. That controversy rumbles on, but this month the central issue of apparent cronyism came to the fore again when the finance ministry disclosed that it had also tried toÃâà...
Asahi Shimbun
April 16, 2018
Japanese and Chinese finance ministers agreed on the importance of multilateral free trade in the face of global fears of trade protectionism, a Japanese official said on Monday. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso and China's Finance Minister Liu Kun discussed the matter on the sidelines of high-levelÃâà...
The Japan News
April 16, 2018
Following these reports, Finance Minister Taro Aso said at a press conference Friday after the Cabinet meeting, “If [the reports] turn out to be true, it will be 'over [for him]' due to sexual harassment.” However, Aso also repeated his previously expressed position that he would not take disciplinary actionÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 15, 2018
The source even pointed to the possibility of Abe quitting before his term as party head expires. “Even a firmly guarded castle may collapse if there is laxness or arrogance,” Akiko Santo warned at Thursday's meeting of the faction led by Finance Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Taro Aso, in her capacityÃâà...
The Times
April 14, 2018
Japan's beleaguered finance minister, Taro Aso, provoked a new round of criticism today, after refusing to discipline a top bureaucrat accused of sexually harassing female journalists. According to an investigative magazine, women assigned to cover the ministry of finance were repeatedly propositioned byÃâà...
Devdiscourse
April 13, 2018
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday he would welcome a decision by the United States to explore rejoining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), following news that President Donald Trump wanted to take a fresh look at the trade pact. "If it's true, I would welcome it," he told reporters after aÃâà...
U.S. News & World Report
April 13, 2018
Trump has asked his trade advisers to look at rejoining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), a multinational trade pact he withdrew the United States from last year, White House spokeswoman Lindsay Walters said. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday he expected Abe and Trump to discussÃâà...
NHK WORLD
April 13, 2018
Finance Minister Taro Aso says the ministry's top bureaucrat cannot escape accusations of sexual harassment if a magazine article about the official's behavior is true. On Friday, Aso referred to the article in the weekly Shukan Shincho that says administrative vice minister Junichi Fukuda repeatedlyÃâà...
Devdiscourse
April 13, 2018
Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday he would welcome a decision by the United States to explore rejoining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), following news that President Donald Trump wanted to take a fresh look at the trade pact. "If it's true, I would welcome it," he told reporters after aÃâà...
The Japan Times
April 13, 2018
Finance Minister Taro Aso has opted not to investigate or punish the ministry's top bureaucrat over allegations he sexually harassed female journalists, saying he has shown sufficient remorse. The Shukan Shincho magazine this week reported that Junichi Fukuda, administrative vice finance minister, hadÃâà...
Asahi Shimbun
April 13, 2018
Finance Minister Taro Aso on April 12 said he has no intention of looking into a claim made by a magazine published the same day that his top bureaucrat sexually harassed a female writer in her 30s. Aso's refusal fueled an outcry by opposition parties, who demanded an investigation into the report, andÃâà...
The Japan News
April 13, 2018
Jiji Press TOKYO (Jiji Press) — Finance Minister Taro Aso suggested Thursday that ministers do not read all administrative documents submitted to Cabinet meetings for approval. “When it comes to whether ministers read all the documents, I'd say I think the reality is that they glance at the papers,” he saidÃâà...
Malay Mail
April 12, 2018
The row comes as the government faces twin cronyism scandals that have dragged down Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's normally high approval ratings and led to opposition calls for the premier and his finance minister to resign. Fukuda has denied the allegations and yesterday Finance Minister Taro AsoÃâà...
The Straits Times
April 12, 2018
Japan's Finance Minister Taro Aso says he would welcome US taking fresh look at TPP. Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso (pictured) said he expected Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and US President Trump to discuss the TPP at their summit meeting next week. PHOTO: REUTERS. Published. 1 hour ago. Facebook TwitterÃâà...
The Straits Times
April 12, 2018
TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japan's finance minister Taro Aso admonished his top bureaucrat on Thursday (April 12) after a magazine reported the official had sexually harassed several female journalists, but he stopped short of imposing any punishment. The issue could become another headache for Aso andÃâà...
The Straits Times
April 12, 2018
TOKYO (REUTERS) - Japanese Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday (April 13) he would welcome a decision by the United States to explore rejoining the Trans Pacific Partnership (TPP), following news that President Donald Trump wanted to take a fresh look at the trade pact. "If it's true, I wouldÃâà...
Kyodo News Plus
April 1, 2018
Those calling for Finance Minister Taro Aso's resignation over the scandal dropped 4.7 percentage points to 47.3 percent. On a government plan to seek media deregulation that involves abolishing a legal clause demanding broadcasters ensure political fairness, 61.3 percent opposed the move, while 23.0Ãâà...
Yahoo News
April 1, 2018
TOKYO (Reuters) - Finance Minister Taro Aso said on Friday that Japan must avoid entering a free trade agreement (FTA) with the United States to rectify trade imbalances. Fears of a trade war have mounted this month as U.S. President Donald Trump's administration imposed tariffs on steel and aluminumÃâà...
