40% of unemployed out of work for more than six months

A labor union survey of unemployed reveals that 40% have been out of work for more than six months and that they urgently need a new job.

Government's budget-slashing measures raise many questions

Commenting on the Democratic Party-led government’s budget-slashing measures to scrutinize the budget requests from government offices for the next fiscal year starting April 1, 2010, Japanese Communist Party Secretariat Head Ichida Tadayoshi criticized the screeners for avoiding moves to cut the most wasteful spending programs.