Hatoyama promotes liberalization of agricultural imports

The Democratic Party of Japan-led Hatoyama government is enthusiastic about creating trade rules to promote the further liberalization of agricultural imports.

Reveal two more documents on secret nuclear pacts

Japanese Communist Party former Chair Fuwa Tetsuzo held a press conference on March 30 and revealed two U.S. declassified documents as evidence to show that the Japanese government had agreed on a bilateral secret agreement allowing the U.S. to bring nuclear weapons into Japan without prior consultation. The following is his statement at the press conference:

LDP spin-off groups represent old political world

Moves within the ex-ruling Liberal Democratic Party for some influential members to leave the party to establish a new party are taking place one after another, first by former Internal Affairs and Communications Minister Hatoyama Kunio followed by former Finance Minister Yosano Kaoru.

60 percent of library staff into non-regular employees

The “working poor” conditions in the public sector are often described by what public libraries are experiencing right now: 60 percent of library workers are non-regular employees. As of April 2009, 15,254 non-regular employees and 5,834 temporary employees sent by staffing agencies are working alongside with 12,623 regular workers in public libraries. Among them, those who have librarian certification include 6,421 in regular employment and 10,955 in non-regular employment, with 30 percent of public libraries in Japan operated only by non-regular staff.