Japan hit by new ministerial row
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Japan's new farming minister admits illegal dealings at a private group he heads, in a fresh blow to the government.
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Japan's defense minister resigned on Tuesday over remarks that appeared to accept the 1945 atomic bomb attacks on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, attempting to quell the latest furor plaguing the ruling camp ahead of an election this month.
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Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda's efforts to pass a bill to extend a naval mission supporting U.S.-led military operations in Afghanistan hit another snag on Monday after revelations of fresh scandals involving the defense ministry.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's  health minister was under pressure to quit on Wednesday for  calling women "birth-giving machines," with opposition parties  poised to boycott debate on the budget unless he stepped down.
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Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro has reshuffled his cabinet to try to boost his popularity and bolster his ability to implement reforms, but the retention of several key ministers has led some analysts to question whether he would succeed.
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Japan&#39;s farm minister resigned on Monday  over illegal dealings at a farmers&#39; group he headed, public  broadcaster NHK reported, dealing a fresh blow to Prime  Minister Shinzo Abe just a week after he revamped his cabinet.
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Japan&#39;s defense minister apologized on  Sunday for comments about the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attacks on  the country that outraged survivors and drew criticism from the  ruling bloc ahead of a key election in July.
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Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was  forced to reprimand his defense minister over a gaffe on  Monday, as his cabinet&#39;s support rates slid below the critical  30 percent level in a poll weeks before an upper house  election.
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Japan's farm minister resigned on Monday over illegal dealings at a farmers' group he headed, dealing a fresh blow to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe just a week after he revamped his cabinet to try to revive his popularity.
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Japan's ruling party scrambled on Thursday to find a new leader and avoid a policy vacuum after Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's shock resignation the previous day.
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Japan's prime minister sternly reprimanded the nation's defense minister for saying the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki were an inevitable way of ending World War II, and asked him Monday to refrain from making similar remarks.
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The agricultural minister, Toshikatsu Matsuoka, was to face parliamentary questioning on a political scandal.
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Earlier Tuesday Japan&#39;s Justice Ministry rejected his demand to stay in the country, saying no justification had been found to grant him protection as a political refugee.
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Japan's defense minister apologized on Sunday for comments about the 1945 U.S. atomic bomb attacks on the country which outraged survivors and drew criticism from the ruling bloc ahead of a key election in late July.
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Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi was warned to be more humble by a key backer in his ruling party amid a simmering row over his controversial plans to privatize postal services.
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A scandal-tainted minister in Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's cabinet committed suicide on Monday, compounding problems for the Japanese leader whose support has already slumped ahead of a July election.
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Japan&#39;s Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura launched a strong protest against the Chinese government and demanded an apology on Friday over an incident in which a submarine deemed to be of Chinese origin infiltrated Japanese waters.