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Domestic news in 2007
1POLITICAL CHAOS The July Upper House election goes to the opposition, making a big winner of the Democratic Party of Japan, which capitalized on the Liberal Democratic Party-New Komeito ruling bloc's mounting woes. In the wake of the big loss and hampered by a Cabinet full of scandal-tainted ministers, including farm minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka, who committed suicide after coming under fire for dubious dealings, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe abruptly steps down on Sept. 12 and Yasuo Fukuda takes his place. 2PENSION FIASCO Cracks in the pension system become too large to ignore when it is revealed that some 50 million premium payment records are unidentified due to mishandling by the Social Insurance Agency — a fact that bureaucrats and many politicians were long aware of but kept under wraps. 3NUCLEAR SAFETY The Kashiwazaki-Kariwa nuclear power plant, the world's largest, is halted by a July 16 earthquake in Niigata Prefecture that kills 11 and injures more than 1,000. Although the plant is not severely damaged, its closure rattles the public and raises concerns about the safety of nuclear plants. 4GUN VIOLENCE Nagasaki Mayor Itcho Ito is assassinated in April by a yakuza while campaigning on a busy city street, another victim of gun violence in a year marked by underworld and other shootings. In early December, licensed gun owner Masayoshi Magome goes on a rampage with a shotgun at a sports club in Sasebo, Nagasaki Prefecture, killing two people. He is later found dead, killed apparently by his own hand. 5NOVA COLLAPSE Nova Corp., the nation's largest language school chain, lands in the spotlight early in the year thanks to a problematic refund policy. A probe, followed by punishment and a falling out with employees, results in corporate failure and the largest number of consumer victims in postwar Japan. 6ANTITERRORISM LAW A consequence of the ruling bloc's loss of its majority in the Upper House, the antiterrorism law expires Nov. 1, ending the Maritime Self-Defense Force's refueling mission in the Indian Ocean in support of U.S.-led antiterrorism activities in and around Afghanistan. 7FOOD MISLABELING A number of food makers, including meat processor Meat Hope Co., venerable sweets maker Akafuku Co. and high-end restaurant chain Senba Kitcho K.K., admit mislabeling their products or falsifying sell-by dates. 8A STEP TOWARD CONSTITUTIONAL REVISION The Diet in May passes a bill pushed by hawkish Prime Minister Shinzo Abe that establishes for the first time procedures for a national referendum to revise the Constitution. The war-renouncing Article 9 appears to be key on the revisionists' hit list. 9STOCK MARKET TURMOIL The nation's stock markets as well as the banking and brokerage industries — not to mention the economy in general — take a hit when the Shanghai Stock Exchange plunges in February, and again later in the year when the U.S. subprime mortgage debacle breaks. Slack housing starts and personal consumption add to the pessimism. 10DEFENSE MINISTRY SCANDALS Defense Ministry bureaucrats become entangled in scandal. Ex-Vice Defense Minister Takemasa Moriya is arrested in November for receiving millions of yen from executives of trading house Yamada Corp. In early December, MSDF Lt. Cmdr. Sumitaka Matsuuchi is held for allegedly leaking highly classified data on the U.S.-designed Aegis defense system. Kyodo photos	What you said . . . On the political chaos: ". . . the terminal decline of the Abe administration started early in his abbreviated run as Japan's leader. It was due to Abe's misguided insistence on a vaguely ideological platform that represented a step back to most Japanese" ". . . Democratic Party of Japan leader Ichiro Ozawa's offer to resign was a brilliant political maneuver. Ozawa knew that his resignation would send the DPJ into a state of frenzy as there is no one in the party capable of replacing him." On the pension fiasco: "I am appalled by the record-keeping debacle and disgusted by the cavalier assertion that pursuing responsible executives on which to lay the blame is not worth pursuing." On the collapse of Nova: ". . . the future of Japan's English-conversation industry lies in the hands of smaller players and bodes ill for the big chain schools." "I am wondering whether the crackbrained officials who, in their questionable wisdom, had imposed their sanctimonious and totally inappropriate penalty upon Nova will spare a thought for the 7,000-odd foreign and Japanese staff who now find themselves unemployed." "I have to be honest and say I'm tired of hearing about the poor students at Nova." "I really wonder why the press has concentrated so much attention on the ex-president of Nova." "There were and are teachers who gave and would continue to give all their efforts to helping the students. Unfortunately, past management didn't fully understand this." On the refueling mission: "I can only give a personal "Bravo Zulu" to my shipmates who manned the AOEs and destroyers involved in these missions." On the food mislabeling scandals: "It is amazing how Japanese media and consumers can get upset about such meaningless small things while remaining indifferent to corruption and incompetence at public institutions." On the Defense Ministry scandals: "The Tokyo District Public Prosecutor's Office Special Investigation team is investigating the office of the Japan-U.S. Peace and Culture Exchange Association. We must keep our eyes open to how far the police investigation goes in exposing this body's nature inside and out."
Most read Japan news stories in 2007
Here's the top 10 most widely read domestic news stories on The Japan Times Online in 2007. (In case you're wondering about stories such as No. 2 and No. 9, these were voted as popular topics on social news sites such as Digg.com) Powerful earthquake slams Niigata Ando was king of instant ramen Nova may close hundreds of schools First Miss Japan, now Universe Abe announces he will resign Nova dealt penalty for deception Prince Tomohito is hospitalized for alcoholism rehab Nova files for bankruptcy with debt of ¥43.9 billion Iran asks Japan to pay for oil with yen, not dollars Embattled farm minister kills himself at residence