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Sakaiya says Iraq war gives Japan chance to spur economy

TOKYO, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, a special adviser to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, says in an interview with Kyodo News that the U.S.-led war on Iraq gives Tokyo an opportunity to implement new policies to bolster Japan's deflation-wracked economy. The government ''should declare a state of emergency and put in place all policies in hand for an economic recovery,'' he said. ''I think the present situation makes it easier to adopt emergency, contingency plans.''

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Yokosuka store sells 'Koizumi goods' following LDP victory

YOKOSUKA, Japan - Shoppers look at ''Koizumi goods'' featuring images of Prime Minister Junichi Koizumi at the Sakaiya department store in the premier's hometown of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on July 30. The department store started the sale of about 10 kinds of Koizumi goods such as handkerchiefs, mugs and badges -- all of which bear the likeness of Koizumi.

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Sakaiya proposes smaller Aichi expo site expansion

NAGOYA, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, senior adviser to the 2005 World Exposition to be held in Aichi Prefecture, speaks about his new proposals on the expo site at a news conference in Nagoya on June 8.

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Asahi Breweries' Higuchi to chair Osaka bourse

OSAKA, Japan - File photos show Hirotaro Higuchi (L), honorary chairman of Asahi Breweries Ltd., and Taichi Sakaiya (R), former head of the Economic Planning Agency. Higuchi will be appointed as chairman of the Osaka Securities Exchange, which is to become a publicly traded company April 1. Sakaiya will be named a board member of the new entity.

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Sakaiya named as special cabinet adviser

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (L) shakes hands with former Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya after appointing him as special cabinet adviser Dec. 8. Sakaiya resigned as EPA chief when Mori reshuffled his cabinet Dec. 5.

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EPA chief Sakaiya leaves office

TOKYO, Japan - Cheered by his staff, Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya leaves his office Dec. 7. Sakaiya was replaced by Fukushiro Nukaga in the Dec. 5 reshuffle of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's cabinet.

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EPA's Sakaiya speaks on GDP in July-Sept qtr

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya speaks to reporters Dec. 4 on Japan's July-September gross domestic product (GDP). The EPA said the GDP grew a real 0.2% in the quarter from the previous quarter for the third consecutive quarterly growth, reaffirming a gradual improvement of the economy.

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EPA slightly downgrades economic assessment

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers Nov. 10 convened to discuss the Economic Planning Agency's monthly report for November. EPA slightly downgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the first time in 26 months. (From L to R) EPA Director General Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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Gov't unveils 11 tril. yen economic package

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (2nd from L) on Oct. 19 attends a meeting of economic affairs ministers and officials from the ruling parties, which endorsed an 11 trillion yen government economic stimulus package designed to achieve a self-sustaining economic recovery. Also attending the meeting were Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (L), Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa (2nd from R) and Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya (R).

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EPA leaves economic assessment intact for 3rd month

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori looks sanguine as he presides over a meeting of his economic ministers Sept. 14 to assess the state of the nation's economy. The Economic Planning Agency (EPA) left intact for the third straight month its view that the economy is gradually moving toward a self-sustaining recovery in its September report. (2nd from left to right) Construction Minister Chikage Ogi, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Mori, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa and EPA Director General Taiichi Sakaiya.

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EPA chief explains Japan's economy

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya briefs reporters on Japan's economy at the EPA building in Tokyo on Sept. 11. The agency announced the nation's gross domestic product grew a real 1.0% in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter for the second consecutive quarterly rise.

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Event held in Okinawa on issue of 2,000-yen note

NAHA, Japan - Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya (C) and other people hold replicas of the new 2,000-yen note in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, on July 19 in an event marking the issue of the banknote held in front of the Shureimon Gate, which is featured on the bill. The Bank of Japan issued the new note to commemorate the year 2000 and the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Okinawa.

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Sakaiya to stay on as EPA chief

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya says July 3 he has accepted Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's request to retain his post in the new cabinet to be launched July 4. ''I have made a bitter decision as I was asked to remain in office by many people,'' Sakaiya told reporters at the agency in Tokyo. Sakaiya, a bureaucrat-turned-writer, had earlier expressed a desire not to stay on as EPA chief.

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EPA chief speaks on Japan's GDP data

TOKYO, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, director general of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA), speaks at a news conference June 9 following EPA's release of Japan's gross domestic product figures for the January-March quarter.

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Japan's EPA slightly upgrades economic assessment

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) sits with (from L to R) Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on May 12 to read an EPA monthly report for May. The EPA slightly upgraded its assessment of the domestic economy, saying it is continuing to improve moderately, due largely to boosted corporate activities.

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EPA monthly report announced

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers April 14 to work on the Economic Planning Agency's monthly economic report for April. The report said the Japanese economy is showing signs of a self-sustaining recovery. Seated from left to right are EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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Japan launches 18 tril. yen economic package

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi addresses a meeting of his economic ministers called Nov. 11 to adopt a pump-priming package worth some 18 trillion yen. Obuchi is flanked by Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (L) and Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya (R).

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Sakaiya says Japan's economy back on recovery track

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya meets the press at his office on Sept. 9. ''Japan's economy is now coming back on a recovery track,'' Sakaiya told reporters following the release of better-than-expected gross domestic product data for the April-June quarter.

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Economy remains 'very severe,' says EPA report

Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya (L) listens to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi before he presents his agency's monthly economic report for April to a cabinet session April 13. The report said, 'All in all, the economy is still in a very severe situation, as private demand remains sluggish.'

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Japanese economy continues contraction

Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya briefs reporters on the state of the Japanese economy at a news conference Thursday Dec. 3. Latest EPA figures showed Japan's economy shrank 0.7% in the July-September quarter, contracting for a record fourth straight quarter.

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EPA gives economy even bleaker grade in Sept. report

The Economic Planning Agency (EPA) further downgrades its assessment of the Japanese economy in its September report released Tuesday, Sept. 8, saying the economy is in ''a prolonged slump and a very severe situation.'' The government report, which is based mainly on July data, cites a further fall in housing starts and the plunge of Tokyo stock prices as the main factors on which it based the gloomy diagnosis of the nation's economy. The photo shows EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya (far L) attending a meeting of cabinet ministers concerned in the Diet building.

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Yokosuka store sells 'Koizumi goods' following LDP victory

YOKOSUKA, Japan - Shoppers look at ''Koizumi goods'' featuring images of Prime Minister Junichi Koizumi at the Sakaiya department store in the premier's hometown of Yokosuka, Kanagawa Prefecture, on July 30. The department store started the sale of about 10 kinds of Koizumi goods such as handkerchiefs, mugs and badges -- all of which bear the likeness of Koizumi.

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Sakaiya says Japan's economy back on recovery track

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya meets the press at his office on Sept. 9. ''Japan's economy is now coming back on a recovery track,'' Sakaiya told reporters following the release of better-than-expected gross domestic product data for the April-June quarter.

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EPA economic assessment unchanged in January

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (2nd from L) and his cabinet members meet Jan. 21 to adopt a monthly report for January of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA). The report said the Japanese economy ''continues to improve moderately,'' a description that has been kept unchanged for the third straight month. (From L to R) Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Obuchi, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya.

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Taichi Sakaiya

Photo taken in October 1999 shows novelist and Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya (L) at a press conference in Tokyo. He died on Feb. 8, 2019, at 83. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Taichi Sakaiya

Photo taken in November 2014 shows former Economic Planning Agency chief and novelist Taichi Sakaiya. He died on Feb. 8, 2019, at 83. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Taichi Sakaiya

Photo taken in December 2000 shows Economic Planning Agency chief Fukushiro Nukaga (L) taking over the ministerial post's duties from his predecessor Taichi Sakaiya (R) at the agency in Tokyo. Sakaiya died on Feb. 8, 2019, at 83. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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Sakaiya says Iraq war gives Japan chance to spur economy

TOKYO, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, a special adviser to Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi, says in an interview with Kyodo News that the U.S.-led war on Iraq gives Tokyo an opportunity to implement new policies to bolster Japan's deflation-wracked economy. The government ''should declare a state of emergency and put in place all policies in hand for an economic recovery,'' he said. ''I think the present situation makes it easier to adopt emergency, contingency plans.'' (Kyodo)

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Sakaiya proposes smaller Aichi expo site expansion

NAGOYA, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, senior adviser to the 2005 World Exposition to be held in Aichi Prefecture, speaks about his new proposals on the expo site at a news conference in Nagoya on June 8.

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Asahi Breweries' Higuchi to chair Osaka bourse

OSAKA, Japan - File photos show Hirotaro Higuchi (L), honorary chairman of Asahi Breweries Ltd., and Taichi Sakaiya (R), former head of the Economic Planning Agency. Higuchi will be appointed as chairman of the Osaka Securities Exchange, which is to become a publicly traded company April 1. Sakaiya will be named a board member of the new entity.

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EPA chief Sakaiya leaves office

TOKYO, Japan - Cheered by his staff, Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya leaves his office Dec. 7. Sakaiya was replaced by Fukushiro Nukaga in the Dec. 5 reshuffle of Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's cabinet.

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EPA's Sakaiya speaks on GDP in July-Sept qtr

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya speaks to reporters Dec. 4 on Japan's July-September gross domestic product (GDP). The EPA said the GDP grew a real 0.2% in the quarter from the previous quarter for the third consecutive quarterly growth, reaffirming a gradual improvement of the economy.

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EPA slightly downgrades economic assessment

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers Nov. 10 convened to discuss the Economic Planning Agency's monthly report for November. EPA slightly downgraded its assessment of the Japanese economy for the first time in 26 months. (From L to R) EPA Director General Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Yasuo Fukuda and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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Gov't unveils 11 tril. yen economic package

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (2nd from L) on Oct. 19 attends a meeting of economic affairs ministers and officials from the ruling parties, which endorsed an 11 trillion yen government economic stimulus package designed to achieve a self-sustaining economic recovery. Also attending the meeting were Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (L), Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa (2nd from R) and Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya (R).

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EPA leaves economic assessment intact for 3rd month

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori looks sanguine as he presides over a meeting of his economic ministers Sept. 14 to assess the state of the nation's economy. The Economic Planning Agency (EPA) left intact for the third straight month its view that the economy is gradually moving toward a self-sustaining recovery in its September report. (2nd from left to right) Construction Minister Chikage Ogi, Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa, Mori, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hidenao Nakagawa and EPA Director General Taiichi Sakaiya.

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EPA chief explains Japan's economy

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya briefs reporters on Japan's economy at the EPA building in Tokyo on Sept. 11. The agency announced the nation's gross domestic product grew a real 1.0% in the April-June quarter from the previous quarter for the second consecutive quarterly rise.

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Event held in Okinawa on issue of 2,000-yen note

NAHA, Japan - Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya (C) and other people hold replicas of the new 2,000-yen note in Naha, Okinawa Prefecture, on July 19 in an event marking the issue of the banknote held in front of the Shureimon Gate, which is featured on the bill. The Bank of Japan issued the new note to commemorate the year 2000 and the Group of Eight (G-8) summit in Okinawa.

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Sakaiya to stay on as EPA chief

TOKYO, Japan - Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya says July 3 he has accepted Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori's request to retain his post in the new cabinet to be launched July 4. ''I have made a bitter decision as I was asked to remain in office by many people,'' Sakaiya told reporters at the agency in Tokyo. Sakaiya, a bureaucrat-turned-writer, had earlier expressed a desire not to stay on as EPA chief.

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EPA chief speaks on Japan's GDP data

TOKYO, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, director general of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA), speaks at a news conference June 9 following EPA's release of Japan's gross domestic product figures for the January-March quarter.

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Japan's EPA slightly upgrades economic assessment

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) sits with (from L to R) Economic Planning Agency (EPA) chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa on May 12 to read an EPA monthly report for May. The EPA slightly upgraded its assessment of the domestic economy, saying it is continuing to improve moderately, due largely to boosted corporate activities.

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EPA monthly report announced

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers April 14 to work on the Economic Planning Agency's monthly economic report for April. The report said the Japanese economy is showing signs of a self-sustaining recovery. Seated from left to right are EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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Sakaiya answers questions on EPA monthly report

TOKYO, Japan - Taichi Sakaiya, director general of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA), fields questions at a news conference on his agency's monthly economic report March 17. The report for March said Japanese economy is showing signs of heading toward a self-sustained recovery for the first time since the latest recession began in April 1997.

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EPA report says economy saw mild recovery for 4th month

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers called Feb. 15 to act on the monthly report for February of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA). The report said the economy was ''continuing to improve moderately,'' the fourth consecutive month it used the phrase to describe the state of the economy. Seated from L to R are EPA Director General Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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EPA maintains economic assessment for 3rd month

TOKYO, Dec. 10 Kyodo - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi (R) presides over a meeting of his economic ministers Dec. 10. The meeting endorsed a monthly report of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA), which said the Japanese economy continued to improve moderately, an assessment the agency maintained in the two previous monthly reports. (From L to R) EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya, Chief Cabinet Secretary Mikio Aoki and Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa.

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Japan launches 18 tril. yen economic package

TOKYO, Japan - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi addresses a meeting of his economic ministers called Nov. 11 to adopt a pump-priming package worth some 18 trillion yen. Obuchi is flanked by Finance Minister Kiichi Miyazawa (L) and Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya (R).

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EPA upgrades assessment of Japanese economy

TOKYO, Oct. 15 Kyodo - Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi and his cabinet members attend a meeting held Oct. 15 to review a monthly report of the Economic Planning Agency (EPA). (From L to R) Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi, Chief Cabinet secretary Mikio Aoki and Economic Planning Agency chief Taichi Sakaiya. The report said that the Japanese economy was ''continuing to improve,'' a slightly better assessment than the previous report.

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Economy remains 'very severe,' says EPA report

Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya (L) listens to Prime Minister Keizo Obuchi before he presents his agency's monthly economic report for April to a cabinet session April 13. The report said, 'All in all, the economy is still in a very severe situation, as private demand remains sluggish.' ==Kyodo

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Japanese economy continues contraction

Economic Planning Agency Director General Taichi Sakaiya briefs reporters on the state of the Japanese economy at a news conference Thursday Dec. 3. Latest EPA figures showed Japan's economy shrank 0.7% in the July-September quarter, contracting for a record fourth straight quarter. ==Kyodo

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EPA gives economy even bleaker grade in Sept. report

The Economic Planning Agency (EPA) further downgrades its assessment of the Japanese economy in its September report released Tuesday, Sept. 8, saying the economy is in ''a prolonged slump and a very severe situation.'' The government report, which is based mainly on July data, cites a further fall in housing starts and the plunge of Tokyo stock prices as the main factors on which it based the gloomy diagnosis of the nation's economy. The photo shows EPA chief Taichi Sakaiya (far L) attending a meeting of cabinet ministers concerned in the Diet building. ==Kyodo