What? Auto repair company is running public libraries?

An auto repair company is undertaking the administration and operations of public libraries in Tokyo’s Adachi Ward, causing cutbacks in public services and creating a “working poor” in the public sector.

‘Sympathy budget’: Japan’s extraordinary generosity to US forces

The Democratic Party of Japan-led government announced on December 14 that it agreed with the U.S. government to conclude a new special agreement in order to maintain about 190 billion yen in the annual “sympathy budget” for the stationing of the U.S. forces in Japan. The agreement will be signed in January and be effective for five years. Under the new arrangement, a total of nearly one trillion yen of Japanese citizens’ tax money will be poured into the coffers of the U.S. military in Japan. This article points out how absurdly generous the Japanese government is to U.S. servicemen with the use of the “sympathy budget.”

Chair Shii delivers New Year message

Japanese Communist Party Chair Shii Kazuo made the speech at the JCP New Year assembly on January 4, calling on all JCP members to make further efforts towards major progress in nationwide local elections.