Tue Jan 24, 2012 7:31 PM EST
The Japanese government's worst-case scenario at the height of the nuclear crisis last year warned that tens of millions of people, including Tokyo residents, might need to leave their homes, according to a report obtained by The Associated Press. But fearing widespread panic, officials kept the report secret.
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Sat Jan 14, 2012 2:16 AM EST
Japan's prime minister, attempting to build support for painful fiscal reforms, said Saturday that the country should be alarmed by ratings cuts in Europe and must tackle its massive public debts to avoid becoming the next target.
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Fri Dec 16, 2011 6:03 AM EST
Japan's government said Wednesday that it could take 40 years to clean up and fully decommission a nuclear plant that went into meltdown after it was struck by a huge tsunami.
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Thu Dec 8, 2011 6:00 AM EST
Japan is spending 2.3 billion yen ($29 million) from its supplementary budget for tsunami reconstruction to fund the country's annual whaling hunt in the Antarctic Ocean, a fisheries official confirmed Thursday.
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Thu Dec 1, 2011 9:04 AM EST
Public support for Japan's prime minister and his Cabinet has fallen 2.5 percentage points over the last month, as the administration's numbers continue to decline, a poll released Sunday shows.
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Sat Nov 12, 2011 12:19 AM EST
The chief of the International Monetary Fund said Saturday that Italy's financial reform is key to reducing the impact of the eurozone crisis, and that no country is immune to the consequences if the efforts fall short.
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Wed Nov 2, 2011 6:37 AM EDT
Mazda reported its fourth straight quarterly loss Wednesday after vehicle sales slumped amid a sluggish global economy and high yen. The company now projects a big annual loss instead of a profit.
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Mon Oct 31, 2011 4:52 AM EDT
Panasonic Corp. stayed in the red in the latest quarter and projected a huge annual loss due to slumping TV sales and a strong yen.
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Wed Oct 12, 2011 4:22 AM EDT
Top Japanese officials said Wednesday the country will decide whether to join a U.S.-led Pacific-wide free trade zone ahead of a regional economic summit to be held in Hawaii next month.
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Tue Sep 20, 2011 12:11 PM EDT
Japan's defense chief said Tuesday that the country's largest arms contractor has suffered a cyberattack, but that no sensitive information is known to have been lost.
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Tue Sep 6, 2011 5:14 AM EDT
Nobel laureate Kenzaburo Oe urged Japan's new prime minister on Tuesday to halt plans to restart nuclear power plants and instead abandon nuclear energy.
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Mon Sep 5, 2011 9:27 AM EDT
Japan's new foreign minister said Monday that the international community should encourage China to observe global rules and play fair rather than become a threat.
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Fri Aug 19, 2011 2:26 AM EDT
Officials say a strong earthquake has hit near Japan's eastern coast, but there is no danger of a tsunami.
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Thu Aug 11, 2011 7:06 AM EDT
Japan's Cabinet has approved a plan to expand the main nuclear regulatory agency and move it to the environment ministry from the trade ministry where it has been criticized as being too cozy with the industry it regulates.
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Wed Jul 27, 2011 6:55 AM EDT
Japanese police and coast guard officers practiced chasing a protest boat and arresting activists Wednesday in preparation for annual dolphin hunts that are attracting more foreign opponents to a sleepy fishing village.
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Wed Jun 22, 2011 10:11 AM EDT
A water recycling system at Japan's damaged nuclear power plant was halted for repairs Monday after a brief run that had been hailed as major progress in restoring control and improving conditions at the crippled plant.
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Mon Jun 6, 2011 11:27 AM EDT
Facing a summer power crunch, some Tokyo city government employees began working an hour earlier Monday to conserve energy amid shortages caused by damage to a tsunami-hit nuclear plant.
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Sat Apr 16, 2011 11:01 PM EDT
The first foreign leader to tour Japan's tsunami-ravaged coast, Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard expressed shock and sorrow at the devastation and visited evacuees at a shelter Saturday, giving toy koalas and kangaroos to excited children.
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Sat Apr 16, 2011 6:30 AM EDT
Levels of radioactivity have risen sharply in seawater near a tsunami-crippled nuclear plant in northern Japan, signaling the possibility of new leaks at the facility, the government said Saturday.
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Sat Apr 9, 2011 10:14 AM EDT
Once Japan's leaky nuclear complex stops spewing radiation and its reactors cool down, making the site safe and removing the ruined equipment is going to be a messy ordeal that could take decades and cost hundreds of millions of dollars.
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Sat Apr 2, 2011 2:49 AM EDT
Japan's government has announced it will ban farmers from planting rice in soil contaminated by radiation from the tsunami-flooded nuclear power plant, adding another food central to Japanese culture to the list of items raising concerns.
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Sun Mar 6, 2011 9:27 AM EST
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said Friday he will not resign after acknowledging that his campaign office had unknowingly received illegal donations from a foreign supporter — days after his foreign minister stepped down for a similar reason.
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Fri Mar 4, 2011 1:11 PM EST
Standard & Poor's cut Toyota's credit rating on Friday to AA- because profitability at Japan's top automaker is not recovering as quickly as at its rivals.
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Fri Mar 4, 2011 6:31 AM EST
Japanese police arrested a teenager accused of cheating on his university entrance examination by consulting online forums with his mobile phone, prompting outrage Friday in this gadget-loving country that prizes hard work and fairness.
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Mon Feb 14, 2011 9:01 AM EST
A group of Japanese citizens has filed a lawsuit challenging a civil law that effectively stops women from keeping their surnames when they marry.
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