Shinzo Abe

Aide to Japan's leader pays unannounced visit to North Korea

2013-05-14 12:35:00

BEIJING -- A senior aide to Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe arrived Tuesday in North Korea, but neither country gave a reason for the unannounced visit that followed weeks of high tension in the region over the North's nuclear and missile tests....

Toyota profit booms

2013-05-08 08:51:00

Toyota's quarterly profit more than doubled to 313.9 billion yen ($3.2 billion) as cost cuts and better sales worked with a weakening yen to add momentum to the automaker's comeback. Toyota Motor Corp., which last year reclaimed the title of world's...

Russia, Japan renew quest for elusive WWII peace treaty

2013-05-01 05:00:00

World War II lingers for Russia and Japan. Nearly 68 years after the fighting ended, the two Asian powers have yet to sign a peace treaty. That could change now that the leaders of both countries have solid nationalist credentials and could pull off...

South Korea chides Japan after lawmakers visit war shrine

2013-04-25 13:12:00

South Korea chided Japan for “retrograde comments and behaviors” Thursday, days after Japanese government ministers and a host of lawmakers flocked to a politically sensitive war shrine. Japan “turns a blind eye and a deaf ear to...

Japan readies defenses for possible missile test by North Korea

2013-04-09 12:28:00

Japan readied its missile defense systems Tuesday against a possible North Korean weapons test, saying it would shoot down any missiles or debris if Japanese territory was threatened. Patriot anti-missile batteries were deployed on the grounds of the...

U.S. and Japan unveil plan for returning Okinawa land

2013-04-05 11:16:00

The U.S. and Japan unveiled plans Friday for gradually returning some land on Okinawa now used by the American military, but still intend to relocate a U.S. Marine base elsewhere on the island, an idea fervently opposed by Okinawans. The island hosts...

Bank of Japan unveils bold plan to lift economy, combat deflation

2013-04-04 17:45:00

Japan's central bank took a massive bet to reset its economy and pull out of nearly two decades of deflation. The Bank of Japan announced an aggressive and ambitious plan Thursday to expand its purchase of long-term bonds and double the amount of...

Japan seeks to join Asia-Pacific trade pact

2013-03-15 10:58:00

WASHINGTON -- Japan intends to join the talks for an ambitious free-trade pact with the U.S. and 10 other countries, raising the economic stakes of the negotiations but also potentially delaying agreement as American and Japanese interests tangle over...

Two U.S. sailors sentenced to prison for Okinawa rape

2013-03-01 13:36:00

Two American sailors will be imprisoned for the rape and robbery of a young woman in Okinawa, a crime that has renewed opposition to the heavy U.S. military presence on the Japanese island. The Naha court on Friday sentenced 24-year-old Christopher...

Japan hangs three prisoners, first executed under new government

2013-02-21 13:13:00

Japan hanged three convicted killers, its Justice Ministry said Thursday. The hangings are the first executions under the new government, continuing a secretive practice that has appalled human rights groups and made Japan an outlier among wealthy...

G-20 moves to allay fears of 'currency war'

2013-02-16 13:46:00

WASHINGTON -- Top finance officials of the Group of 20 largest economies sought Saturday to allay fears of a currency war, pledging not to target exchange rates to gain a competitive advantage in trade. But the joint statement, issued at the end of a G-...

Japan's central bank pledges new stimulus to combat deflation

2013-01-22 08:35:00

WASHINGTON -- Taking a page from the Federal Reserve's stimulus playbook, Japan's central bank on Tuesday set a 2% inflation target and made an "open-ended" pledge to buy a potentially unlimited amount of government bonds to bolster its long sluggish...

South Korea's President-elect Park Geun-hye, right, receives a document from Fukushiro Nukaga, the special envoy of Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, during their meeting at Park's office in Seoul on Friday.

2013-01-04 10:05:00

Shinzo Abe, Japan's new prime minister, speaks during a news conference at the prime minister's official residence in Tokyo last Wednesday.

2012-12-31 10:06:15

Prime Minister Shinzo Abe with his new Cabinet.

2012-12-26 00:00:00