Opposition frustrated with Koizumi vagueness over Iraq

Opposition frustrated with Koizumi vagueness over Iraq

TOKYO, Japan - Natoto Kan (L), president of the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sit for talks about the Iraqi crisis at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on March 13. Koizumi separately met opposition leaders to seek their cooperation in dealing with the crisis.

4 contenders kick off race for DPJ leadership

4 contenders kick off race for DPJ leadership

TOKYO, Japan - Four candidates for the leadership of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party of Japan -- Yoshihiko Noda (L), Yukio Hatoyama (2nd from L), Natoto Kan (2nd from R) and Takahiro Yokomichi (R) -- join hands at party headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 9 before a joint press conference. Earlier in the day, the four lawmakers registered their candidacies for the Sept. 23 election.

DPJ lawmakers inspect seaweed farms in Ariake Sea

DPJ lawmakers inspect seaweed farms in Ariake Sea

SAGA, Japan - Natoto Kan (far L), secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), tastes seaweed from a fishing net in the Ariake Sea off Saga Prefecture on Jan. 27. A group of DPJ lawmakers, headed by Kan, inspected seaweed farms in the Ariake Sea following allegations that a state-run land reclamation project had damaged large amounts of the crop.

Opposition frustrated with Koizumi vagueness over Iraq

Opposition frustrated with Koizumi vagueness over Iraq

TOKYO, Japan - Natoto Kan (L), president of the leading opposition Democratic Party of Japan, and Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi sit for talks about the Iraqi crisis at the prime minister's office in Tokyo on March 13. Koizumi separately met opposition leaders to seek their cooperation in dealing with the crisis. (Kyodo)

4 contenders kick off race for DPJ leadership

4 contenders kick off race for DPJ leadership

TOKYO, Japan - Four candidates for the leadership of Japan's main opposition Democratic Party of Japan -- Yoshihiko Noda (L), Yukio Hatoyama (2nd from L), Natoto Kan (2nd from R) and Takahiro Yokomichi (R) -- join hands at party headquarters in Tokyo on Sept. 9 before a joint press conference. Earlier in the day, the four lawmakers registered their candidacies for the Sept. 23 election. (Kyodo)

DPJ lawmakers inspect seaweed farms in Ariake Sea

DPJ lawmakers inspect seaweed farms in Ariake Sea

SAGA, Japan - Natoto Kan (far L), secretary general of the main opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ), tastes seaweed from a fishing net in the Ariake Sea off Saga Prefecture on Jan. 27. A group of DPJ lawmakers, headed by Kan, inspected seaweed farms in the Ariake Sea following allegations that a state-run land reclamation project had damaged large amounts of the crop.