Naoto Kan

Japan PM Yoshihiko Noda heads to India to boost economic ties

Tuesday December 27, 2011

Noda's predecessor Naoto Kan met Singh in October last year and stressed the warm ties linking two of Asia's biggest democracies.

Race to choose new Japan PM begins

Agence France Presse | Saturday August 27, 2011

Japan's ruling party is to kick off a two-day campaign on Saturday to choose a new leader for the disaster-hit nation, with trade and industry minister Banri Kaieda emerging as a strong contender.

Japan: PM resigns amid plunging popularity

Associated Press | Friday August 26, 2011

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan announced Friday he was resigning after almost 15 months in office, amid plunging approval ratings over his government's handling of the tsunami disaster and nuclear crisis.

Joy blossoms in grief hit Japan

Associated Press | Tuesday July 19, 2011

If ever there was one, this was a victory to be savored. After a year that will go down in history as one of Japan's most difficult, a period scarred by the horrors of a deadly earthquake and tsunami and the world's worst nuclear disaster since Che...

Japan PM wants less reliance on nuclear power

Associated Press | Wednesday July 13, 2011

Japan's prime minister said Wednesday he wants his country to learn from its ongoing crisis and become less reliant on nuclear energy.

Japan's PM survives no-confidence motion

Associated Press | Thursday June 2, 2011

Prime Minister Naoto Kan survived a no-confidence motion on Thursday over his response to Japan's massive tsunami and ensuing nuclear crisis, but said he is willing to resign once the country's recovery takes hold.Kan won by a margin of 293-152 in the 480-seat lower house. The remaining members were...

Japan plans global nuclear safety meet

Agence France-Presse | Thursday May 26, 2011

Japan intends to host a global meeting on nuclear safety with UN atomic energy watchdog IAEA late next year, Prime Minister Naoto Kan told Group of Eight leaders today.??????? ?"Japan would like to open an international summit on nuclear safety in cooperation ...

Japan PM on defensive over disaster leadership

Agence France-Presse | Sunday May 1, 2011

Japan's unpopular Prime Minister Naoto Kan pleaded for public "understanding" today after a poll showed three-quarters of people questioned his leadership and handling of the post-disaster crisis.In a weekend telephone survey by Kyodo news agency, 76 per cent of 1,010 respondents believed Kan was "n...

Japan plans disaster budget, building 100K homes

Associated Press | Friday April 22, 2011

Japan's government proposed a special $50 billion (4 trillion yen) budget to help finance reconstruction efforts Friday and plans to build 100,000 temporary homes for survivors of last month's devastating earthquake and tsunami.The twin disasters destroyed roads, ports, farms and homes and crippled ...

Japan PM upset with mishandling of nuclear plant crisis

Indo-Asian News Service | Tuesday March 15, 2011

Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan Tuesday slammed Tokyo Electric Power Co. (TEPCO) for its improper handling of the quake-stricken Fukushima No. 1 nuclear power plant at which two explosions led to leaking of radioactive substances into the atmosphere.According to Kyodo news agency, one of its repor...

Japan PM says won't resign over foreign donations

Associated Press | Friday March 11, 2011

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.Kan explained during a parliamentary committee sessio...

Japanese PM: Quake caused 'major damage'

The Associated Press | Friday March 11, 2011

Japan's Prime Minister said Friday's 8.9-magnitude quake caused "major damage" in northeastern Japan, but that nuclear power facilities in the area were not damaged and there was no radiation leakage.Friday's offshore quake triggered a tsunami that hit Japan's eastern coast, sweeping away buildings ...

Prime Ministers of China, Japan meet over island row

Associated Press | Sunday October 31, 2010

The prime ministers of Japan and China met informally at a regional summit on Saturday amid a diplomatic row that has plunged the two countries' relations to a five-year low.Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan said he was able to talk briefly with Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao on the sidelines of the Eas...

Major setback for Japan's ruling party in midterm vote

Martin Fackler, NYT News Service | Sunday July 11, 2010

Japan Prime Minister Naoto Kan said on Sunday that he will not resign, even as vote tallies increasingly indicated that his Democratic Party was heading for a major political setback in a midterm election widely seen as a referendum on the struggling nine-month-old government.With many districts rep...