CHRONOLOGY

JULY — AUGUST 2007

JULY

3 Minister of Defense Kyûma Fumio resigns after coming under heavy criticism for his June 30 comment that the US atomic bombing of Nagasaki in the closing days of World War II "couldn’t be helped." Koike Yuriko, a special advisor to the prime minister, is named his replacement, becoming the nation’s first-ever female defense chief.

9 The government begins shortwave radio broadcasts intended for Japanese abductees in North Korea. The weekly 30-minute programs, which carry messages from abductees’ family members in Japan, are broadcast once a day in Japanese and Korean. Another aim of the broadcasts is to raise awareness of the abduction issue in North Korea.

10 The cabinet decides to extend by another year the airlift mission of the Air Self-Defense Force in Iraq under the Special Measures Law on Humanitarian and Reconstruction Assistance in Iraq. The extension runs through July 31, 2008.

11 The Ministry of Finance releases figures showing that the nation’s current account surplus in May grew by 31.1% from a year before to ¥2.13 trillion.

16 At 10:13 am a magnitude 6.8 earthquake strikes off the shore of Niigata Prefecture. Eleven people are confirmed killed and 1,307 are injured. Tokyo Electric Power Co.’s Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant experiences radiation leaks and fires. On July 22 the government formally accepts a request from the International Atomic Energy Agency to dispatch inspectors to the affected plant. On July 23 the prefectural government estimates damage from the quake at ¥1.5 trillion.

19 The Tokyo District Court sentences fund manager Murakami Yoshiaki to two years in prison for insider trading in connection with the attempted takeover of Nippon Broadcasting System by Livedoor Co. in 2004–5. Murakami immediately appeals the verdict.

20 Toyota Motor Corp. releases figures for the January–June period indicating that it has surpassed General Motors to become the world’s top automaker in terms of the number of vehicles sold.

25 The Ministry of Finance releases figures showing that Japan’s trade surplus in the first half of 2007 came to ¥5.13 trillion, up 59.3% from a year before. Exports to other Asian countries grew, but the trade surplus with the United States shrank for the first time in three and a half years.

29 The administration of Prime Minister Abe Shinzô faces its first national electoral test in the House of Councillors election, where half of the seats are in contest, with the winners to serve terms through 2013. The prime minister’s Liberal Democratic Party fares dismally in both the electoral districts and proportional-representation voting. With 64 of its seats in play, the LDP captures only 37, while coalition partner New Komeitô wins just 9 seats, leaving the ruling coalition far short of a majority in the upper house. The opposition Democratic Party of Japan wins 60 seats to become the largest party in the chamber. Abe declares his determination to stay on, but he faces harsh criticism and deepening tension within his party. Turnout in the election was over 58%, marking a 2-point increase over the last upper house election in 2004.

30 The US House of Representatives passes a nonbinding resolution calling on the government of Japan to acknowledge its responsibility and apologize for the treatment of the so-called comfort women by the former Imperial Japanese Army. On July 31 Prime Minister Abe reacts by saying that he explained his own thoughts and the response of the Japanese government when he visited the United States in April, adding that it is regrettable the resolution was passed.

31 The Ministry of Finance releases an outline of the government’s final budget figures for fiscal 2006 (April 2006 to March 2007) showing that tax revenues fell short of expectations by ¥1.4 trillion. Expenditures were also lower than budgeted, reflecting unexpectedly low interest payments on government borrowing. As a result, some ¥1.8 trillion of the budgeted funds were not used, a record high.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Asô Tarô attends the East Asia Summit Ministers Meeting and the ASEAN+3 (Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus China, Japan, and South Korea) Foreign Ministers Meeting in Manila.

AUGUST

1 Minister of Agriculture, Forestry, and Fisheries Akagi Norihiko is dismissed for dubious practices in handling political funds. The cloud of doubt involving Akagi had been blamed for contributing to the LDP’s loss in the House of Councillors election.

The National Tax Agency releases figures for assessed prices of land as of January 1 this year. The national average comes to ¥126,000 per square meter, up 8.6% from a year earlier, with the figure for Tokyo advancing by 17% to ¥570,000/m².

2 The Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications announces that Japan’s population as of the end of March declined for the second year in a row, slipping by 1,554 from the previous year to 127,053,471. For the first time, the population of the three largest metropolitan areas, greater Tokyo, Osaka, and Nagoya, accounts for over half the total.

Foreign Minister Asô attends the ASEAN Regional Forum Ministerial Meeting in Manila.

6 The Cabinet Office announces that the diffusion index of coincident economic indicators for June came to 77.8%, holding above the 50% boom-or-bust mark for the third month in a row. The index of leading indicators rose to 80%, topping 50% for the first time in a year.

8 DPJ President Ozawa Ichirô meets with US Ambassador Thomas Schieffer. Schieffer urges Ozawa to agree to an extension of the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law, which serves as the legal basis for the Maritime Self-Defense Force refueling mission in the Indian Ocean, but Ozawa rejects the idea.

10 The cabinet approves the proposal from the Council on Economic and Fiscal Policy to cap general expenditures under the budget for fiscal 2008 at ¥47.3 trillion, up slightly from this year’s initial budget of ¥46.8 trillion.

12–24 Minister for Foreign Affairs Asô Tarô visits the Middle East (Jordan, Israel, and the Palestinian territories) and Latin America (Mexico and Brazil).

13 The Cabinet Office reports that real gross domestic product in the April–June quarter grew by 0.1%, or an annualized rate of 0.5%. It is the tenth consecutive quarter of GDP expansion.

The Ministry of Finance reports that the nation’s current account surplus for the first half of 2007 period was up 31.3% from a year before, rising to ¥12.47 trillion, the highest level on record for a half year.

15 On the sixty-second anniversary of the end of World War II, only one cabinet minister visits Yasukuni Shrine, the lowest such number in 20 years.

16 As the Japanese archipelago continues to be gripped in sweltering heat, temperatures at towns in Gifu and Saitama Prefectures reach 40.9 degrees Celsius, a new nationwide high in 74 years of records.

17 With investors rattled by the subprime mortgage crisis in the United States, the benchmark Nikkei average of 225 shares on the Tokyo Stock Exchange plunges 874 points, falling below 15,300 for the first time in nearly a year. The yen, meanwhile, gains value, reaching ¥111.60 to the dollar for the first time since June 2006.

The IAEA releases a report on its inspection of the earthquake-damaged Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear plant conducted August 6–10, noting that the reactor was safely stopped and damage was not as bad as expected.

19–25 Accompanied by a 200-member delegation of businesspeople led by Nippon Keidanren (Japan Business Federation) Chairman Mitarai Fujio, Prime Minister Abe travels to Indonesia, India, and Malaysia. Abe meets with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono on August 20, and the two leaders sign a bilateral economic partnership agreement. In their meeting on August 22, Abe and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agree to deepen exchanges between the two countries and to cooperate on the environment and other issues.

20 A China Airlines jet bursts into flames shortly after landing at Okinawa’s Naha Airport. All the passengers and crew safely evacuate the plane. The fire and subsequent explosion apparently resulted from a fuel tank leak.

22 Following the closure of a quake-damaged nuclear plant in Niigata and the record heat that has led to a surge in air-conditioner use, Tokyo Electric Power Co. takes emergency supply-adjustment measures for the first time in 17 years, curbing the supply of power to 23 major industrial users during the afternoon hours of peak demand.

23 At a meeting of its Policy Board, the Bank of Japan decides by a vote of eight to one to leave its target for the overnight call rate at around 0.5%.

25 Japan and ASEAN agree on the general framework of an economic partnership agreement under which Japan will immediately eliminate tariffs on items accounting for 90% the value of its imports from ASEAN members; rice, however, is excluded. The pact is expected to be signed in November.

27 Prime Minister Abe reshuffles the cabinet and LDP leadership, moving Foreign Minister Asô Tarô to the post of LDP secretary general and naming Ishihara Nobuteru to head the party’s Policy Research Council. Abe taps LDP heavyweight Yosano Kaoru to serve as chief cabinet secretary and former Foreign Minister Machimura Nobutaka to reassume his old post as Asô’s successor. Kômura Masahiko, another former foreign minister, is appointed to succeed Koike Yuriko as minister of defense.

29–31 German Chancellor Angela Merkel visits Japan. During her summit with Abe, the two discuss a post–Kyoto Protocol framework for combating global warming. Merkel also calls on DPJ President Ozawa, asking him to support an extension of the Antiterrorism Special Measures Law.

© 2007 Japan Echo Inc.