Ichiro Ozawa

Kan Survives as Japan's Leader With Vow to End Deflation Cycle By Sachiko Sakamaki and Takashi Hirokawa Naoto Kan, Japan's prime minister and leader of the ruling Democratic Party of Japan, is greeted by other party lawmakers in Tokyo. Kan, 63, was re-elected head of the Democratic Party of Japan, defeating Ichiro Ozawa in a ballot that showed he has more support among rank-and-file members than lawmakers after losing control last month of parliament’s upper house. Photographer: Tomohiro...Read Full Story

Japan's centre-left Prime Minister Naoto Kan, under fire for his handling of the response to the March 11 earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disaster, faces the threat of a no-confidence motion this week. Although Kan's opponents have only a slim chance of rallying enough support for a successful motion in the Diet legislature, the move would be a fresh headache for the PM, who has been in office for less than a year. Leaders of the main conservative opposition Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) and...Read Full Story

Japan's former ruling party secretary general Ichiro Ozawa should be indicted over a funding scandal, a citizens' judicial review panel said Monday in a ruling that paves the way for legal action. The independent panel's decision represents a major turnaround for the 68-year-old Ozawa, dubbed the "Shadow Shogun", who only weeks ago was in contention to become Japan's prime minister in a party leadership election. He lost out to Prime Minister Naoto Kan last month. The panel ruled that Ozawa...Read Full Story

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan , in office for just three months, was fighting for his job Tuesday in a party vote against a veteran powerbroker who could become the nation's third leader in a year. Lawmakers from their centre-left Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) started voting at a two-yearly leadership meeting in a Tokyo hotel to decide the tight race between Kan and his rival, Ichiro Ozawa . Kan is more popular with the public, but Ozawa, although tainted by money scandals, is seen as...Read Full Story

TOKYO ( Reuters ) - A former Japanese prime minister joined the swelling ranks of ruling party rebels trying to oust leader Naoto Kan , raising the risk that a no-confidence vote will pass in parliament on Thursday, forcing him to quit. Japan's fifth premier in as many years, Kan has come under fire for his handling of the nuclear crisis triggered by the March 11 earthquake, the world's worst in quarter of a century. The Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) rebels lining up against Kan also resent...Read Full Story

TOKYO ( Reuters ) - Japan's ruling party votes on Tuesday in a cliffhanger poll that could yield the country's sixth premier in three years and refocus fiscal policies as Tokyo battles a strong yen , a weak economy and bulging public debt. Prime Minister Naoto Kan , 63, who took office three months ago, is more popular among ordinary voters but rival Ichiro Ozawa , 68, a veteran lawmaker with dual images as a reformer and a scandal-tainted dealmaker, heads the ruling party's biggest group...Read Full Story

Japan's Prime Minister Naoto Kan , in office for just three months, fights for his job Tuesday in a party vote against a veteran powerbroker who could become the nation's third leader in a year. Ichiro Ozawa , although less popular with the public and tainted by money scandals, is seen as having an even chance in the internal party ballot because he commands the loyalty of many lawmakers he helped get elected. For Japan and its young centre-left government, the power struggle spells more...Read Full Story

Having survived a challenge to his leadership Tuesday, Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan must now work to end the turbulence that marked the ruling party's first dramatic year in power, analysts say. Kan's victory came two days before the Democratic Party of Japan celebrates its first year in government, having ousted the conservative Liberal Democrats in a landslide last summer to end a half-century of near unbroken rule. After defeating powerful faction boss Ichiro Ozawa in a party ballot...Read Full Story

Japan's centre-left Prime Minister Naoto Kan , in office for just three months, on Tuesday survived a leadership challenge from a veteran party powerbroker. The "son of a salaryman" premier was re-elected by his Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) as leader, meaning he stays on as premier, after defeating party powerbroker Ichiro Ozawa , dubbed the "Shadow Shogun". Under the DPJ's complex voting formula, which gives different weight to lawmakers, local assembly members and rank-and-file members...Read Full Story

TOKYO ( Reuters ) - Japanese Prime Minister Naoto Kan kept political allies in key posts in a cabinet reshuffle on Friday, signaling he plans to try to press ahead with efforts to curb the country's huge debt. In a sign that worries about Japan's fragile economic recovery could complicate those efforts, Kan was to instruct his new cabinet to compile an extra budget for the current fiscal year to March 31, Kyodo news agency reported. But funds for the fresh steps would be found without issuing...Read Full Story