By Elaine Donnelly
Extending sexual misconduct to combat units
There are no permanent victories in democratic politics and no permanent defeats. Thus, even as conservatives in the United States are working to find better ways to present our ideas in the 2014 and 2016 elections, we should pause a moment to celebrate some successes overseas.
Shinzo Abe took office as Japan's seventh prime minister in six years Wednesday and vowed to overcome the deep-rooted economic and diplomatic crises facing his country.
The Liberal Democratic Party's victory in Japan's parliamentary election Sunday virtually ensures that Shinzo Abe, who resigned as prime minister for health reasons in 2007 after just a year in office, will get a second chance to try to lead Japan out of its economic slump.
Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide election victory Sunday after three years in opposition, exit polls showed, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China.
Japan's conservative Liberal Democratic Party returned to power in a landslide election victory Sunday after three years in opposition, exit polls showed, signaling a rightward shift in the government that could further heighten tensions with rival China.
Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda dissolved the lower house of parliament Friday, paving the way for elections in which his ruling party will likely give way to a weak coalition government divided over how to solve Japan's myriad problems.
One is a former prime minister known for his nationalistic views. A second is a hawkish former defense chief.
Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced Friday he would resign after almost 15 months in office amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis.
Japan's nuclear industry is eager to restart reactors shut down for maintenance or switched off after the March 11 earthquake and tsunami caused explosions and meltdowns at a power plant in the northeast and sparked a nationwide panic over radiation exposure.
Japanese ruling party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa will be charged in a funding scandal, a judicial panel said Monday, clouding his chances of making another grab at power after having just lost a party leadership vote.
Japan's ship of state has sailed into the perfect storm.
Yomiuri Shimbun
Japanese Defense Minister Yuriko Koike said yesterday Tokyo remained committed to its role in the U.S.-led military operation in Afghanistan despite major political gains last month by an opposition party that has demanded an end to the mission.
More than Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and his Liberal Democratic Party have been set back by the drubbing they took in last Sunday's election in Japan.
