Government approves plan to tighten control of education

Japanese Communist Party Vice Chair Ishii Ikuko said, “The ‘Basic Plan’ should be withdrawn because it breaches the fundamental right to autonomy of education and casts yet-open-minded children into a mold created by the state and because it puts forward a plan to slash the teaching staff by 10,000.”

Government spends 9 billion yen to fuel coalition warships in ‘anti-terror’ operations in Indian Ocean

Ignoring fishermen’s demands for direct financial assistance to cover rising fuel costs due to soaring oil prices, the Japanese government is squandering nine billion yen a year to provide fuel to U.S. warships involved in the so-called “anti-terrorism” missions in the Indian Ocean.

Bush and Fukuda announce they will strengthen Japan-U.S. alliance

Prime Minister Fukuda Yasuo promised to promote cooperation between the two countries in “the fight against terrorism,” the Iraq war, the realignment of U.S. forces in Japan, and missile defense.