Democratic Party News

The Democratic Party of Japan may be heading for another collision course with both conservatives and the U.S. government as it decides to study the costs of Japan paying for local national workers on American military bases.

Even though rumors have continued that Houston Mayor Bill White may shift his election goal from the U.S. Senate to governor, White said on Friday that's not the case.

Japanese flocked to a large gymnasium in central Tokyo in recent weeks to see what for them was an unusual sight: senior bureaucrats being grilled over their budget requests for next year.

A company exceeded the limit on buying tickets for fund-raising parties of an organization affiliated with political heavyweight Ichiro Ozawa as a gesture of appreciation for winning subcontracting work on a dam project, a company source said.

Japan and the U.S. signed a secret nuclear pact when they revised their security treaty in 1960, a Japanese Foreign Ministry probe has revealed according to the Asahi Shimbun last Saturday.

Houston Mayor Bill White's wife, Andrea, served the visiting ambassadors sandwiches in the living room of their spacious memorial-area home as several hours of discussion set the stage for Monday's announcement that White is considering switching from a run for the U.S. Senate to a bid for Democratic nomination for governor.

The Hatoyama administration is in agony over the relocation of the U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Okinawa Prefecture.

Visiting Chinese Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi met with Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama Friday on improvement of bilateral ties under the new government of the Democratic Party of Japan .

Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, faced fresh allegations of illegal donations Thursday after a source connected with an engineering firm told prosecutors that unreported contributions had been made to one of his aides when the contractor sought to get in on an Iwate Prefecture dam project.

'Anime hall of fame' plan revised / Controversial govt project's budget cut to fraction of original intent The Yomiuri Shimbun A controversial government project to build a national popular culture center, dubbed the "anime hall of fame," has been revised by the Cultural Affairs Agency.

Ichiro Ozawa, secretary general of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, faced fresh allegations of illegal donations Thursday after a source connected with an engineering firm told prosecutors that unreported contributions had been made to one of his aides when the contractor sought to get in on an Iwate Prefecture dam project.

Japana s government is considering trimming some of its campaign spending pledges to prevent an increase in debt issuance next year that might send yields higher and damp the economic recovery.

Japana s government should combat deflation by selling the yen and weakening the currency, according to Takahide Kiuchi , chief economist at Nomura Securities Co.

The farm ministry has started preparing for the introduction of a new income support program for farmers--one of the key platforms of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan in the Aug.

Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama's Cabinet on Tuesday laid out basic guidelines for a planned second extra budget for fiscal 2009, but left its size and deadline open, ruling party lawmakers said.

The People's New Party, a junior partner in the ruling Democratic Party of Japan-led coalition, is seeking to launch a new party with another minor party and a small group of independent lawmakers, party sources said Monday.

Japan's government could agree as much as $30 billion in new stimulus measures on Monday as economic growth is likely to slow next year due to sluggish personal spending and rising inventories.

Japanese Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama met Wednesday with Wang Jiarui, head of the International Department of the Communist Party of China Central Committee, on exchanges of ruling parties between Japan and China.

U.S. President Barack Obama pressed Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama during their summit meeting Friday to quickly reach a decision on the issue of relocating the U.S. Marine Corps' Futenma Air Station, it was learned Saturday.

It might come under the category of something that couldna t have happened at a worse time.