Japan Institute for National Fundamentals

Feb 10, 2012 (Fri)

#127 People’s Burden Not to Increase on Consumption Tax Hike

February 6, 2012 A dispute over a hike of 5 percentage points in the consumption tax rate is linked to the possible dissolution of the House of Representatives and the general election. But the 5-p...

Feb 02, 2012 (Thu)

#126 Fight Intimidation by the Weak with Sanctions

January 30, 2012 Iran and North Korea are weak countries that intimidate the world. After the International Atomic Energy Agency gave specific evidence of Iran’s nuclear weapon development in its r...

Jan 26, 2012 (Thu)

#125 TPP to Prosper Japan

January 23, 2012 It is rather abnormal that arguments against the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade initiative, describing the TPP as ruining Japan and branding TPP supporters as traitors, have ...

Jan 19, 2012 (Thu)

#124 Noda Cabinet Should Serve Only as Caretaker

January 16, 2012 Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s appointment of Naoki Tanaka as defense minister might have stunned a large number of people. I was appalled at the appointment. Funny selection ...

Jan 10, 2012 (Tue)

#123 India and Japan: Partnership Built on “Kizuna”

January 10, 2012 For India and Japan, the year 2011 ended on a high note. The Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh and his Japanese counterpart Yoshihiko Noda met in New Delhi on December 28 and re...

Dec 28, 2011 (Wed)

#122 Give Top Priority to Rescuing Abductees

December 26, 2011 Nine days have passed since the death of North Korean dictator Kim Jong Il (if the Pyongyang-announced date for his death is correct). Mourning events hosted by his third son, Kim...

Dec 22, 2011 (Thu)

#121 Kim Jon Un Regime Will Not Last Long

December 19, 2011 North Korean leader Kim Jong Il, general secretary of the Workers’ Party of Korea, is finally dead. The immediate focus of attention is whether his third son Jong Un, nominated as...

Dec 22, 2011 (Thu)

#120 Grave Concerns about Noda’s Asian Diplomacy

December 19, 2011 I am ashamed to make a lot of noise by criticizing Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda for his coward diplomacy. But I feel that Noda was pressed unilaterally by South Korean President ...

Dec 16, 2011 (Fri)

#119 Imperial Female Family Branches Could Cause Troubles

Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda’s Cabinet has launched a panel to consider allowing princesses to create imperial family branches after they marry. The Cabinet reportedly plans to promote this idea to r...

Dec 09, 2011 (Fri)

#118 Japan-U.S. Alliance Is Important, But…

In the past few months, various people told me: “Mr. Umehara, you had been in charge of negotiations on free trade and economic partnership agreements at the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. Y...