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According to data released by the Cabinet Office today, Japan’s gross domestic product (GDP) during the April-June period was on a quarter-to-quarter basis revised up to a 0.9 percent increase from a preliminary 0.6 percent. This amounts to an annual...

At a press conference yesterday, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yoshihide Suga revealed that no reshuffle of ministers posts will take place in a while and that Prime Minister Abe wants to keep his team "as is" at least until the end of the next ordinary Di...

The Yomiuri Shimbun reports that the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) plans to move forward with liberating the gas market for households in 2016. In doing so, the ministry is hoping that the increased competition in the market will lea...

According to Reuters, Minister of Finance Taro Aso stated that Japan will announce at the G-20 Summit it plans to proceed with the two-stage consumption tax increase. Additionally, Aso remarked that the government is considering compiling an extra bu...

According to the Nikkei Shimbun, more than 70% of the members of a special advisory panel believe that the consumption tax should be increased as planned. Eight people sought a change in the gain increase citing the possible adverse effects on effort...

In an interview with the Mainichi Shimbun, former Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi made clear his anti-nuclear energy stance. He commented that Japan has “no choice but to get rid of nuclear power” and that the move towards zero nuclear power should ...

In an interview with NHK regarding the possible consumption tax increase, Akira Amari, the Minister for Economic Revitalization, stated that he believes “it [the decision] will come before the APEC summit meeting at the latest.” The APEC summit is sc...

Reuters summarizes well the discussion on liberalization of mix treatment under the National Health Insurance scheme.    On one side of the argument is the 165,000-member JMA and health ministry officials, who say they want to protect the cherished...

According to a survey conducted by the Nikkei Shimbun and TV Tokyo during August 23-25, approval ratings for the Abe Cabinet increased five points since last month and stands at 68% while disapproval ratings have decreased by six points at 23%. Moreo...

In an interview with the Asahi Shimbun, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son urges for full liberalization of the electricity market and insists that the unbundling of the power transmission and distribution is inevitable in Japan. Since the March 11 disast...