TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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APEC ministers aim for resilient energy supply chains amid Mideast crisis
SUZHOU, China - Trade ministers from 21 Asia-Pacific economies underscored the importance of maintaining resilient supply chains for energy and other essential products amid the Middle East conflict at a two-day meeting in Suzhou, eastern China, that ended Saturday.
In a joint statement issued after the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation ministerial meeting, the trade chiefs affirmed their resolve to "ensure trade continues to flow and critical infrastructure continues to support the viability and integrity of supply chains globally."
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Japan's Okamoto, Efira win best actress award at Cannes film festival
CANNES, France - Japan's Tao Okamoto and Belgian-French performer Virginie Efira won the best actress award at the Cannes Film Festival on Saturday, with Okamoto becoming the first Japanese actress to receive the recognition.
They both starred in the film "All of a Sudden," also known as "Soudain," directed by Ryusuke Hamaguchi. The film depicts a theater director battling cancer, played by Okamoto, and a care facility director, played by Efira, who form a deep friendship.
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Japan, China trade chiefs chat, 1st ministerial exchange amid row
SUZHOU, China - Japanese trade minister Ryosei Akazawa said Saturday he had a brief exchange with his Chinese counterpart Wang Wentao on the sidelines of a regional economic forum in Suzhou, eastern China, marking the first ministerial contact between the two countries since their latest diplomatic dispute flared up last year.
Sino-Japanese ties have deteriorated since Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi suggested in parliament last November that Japan could deploy its defense forces in the event of a conflict over Taiwan, the self-ruled island claimed by Beijing.
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Imperial couple plans Sept. visit to areas hit by 2016 quake in Kumamoto
TOKYO - Arrangements are made for Japan's Emperor Naruhito and Empress Masako to visit Kumamoto Prefecture which last month marked 10 years since devastating earthquakes, sources familiar with the matter said on Saturday.
The Imperial Household Agency is considering a two-day trip that would include inspections of reconstruction and meetings with disaster survivors, the sources said. Since the emperor assumed the throne in 2019, it will be his and the empress's first visit to the areas hit by a pair of back-to-back quakes that claimed more than over 270 lives.
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Disappointment spreads among A-bomb survivors in Japan over NPT confab
TOKYO - Survivors of the 1945 U.S. atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki and their mayors expressed disappointment Saturday after a review conference for the nuclear nonproliferation treaty ended yet again without a consensus document.
Officials participating in the monthlong conference in New York failed to overcome disagreements Friday chiefly over the Iranian nuclear program, despite the conference president negotiating with countries including Iran and the United States, one of the five nations allowed to possess nuclear weapons under the treaty.
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U.S. soldier in Okinawa referred to prosecutors for sexual assault in April
NAHA, Japan - A U.S. soldier stationed in Okinawa was referred to prosecutors by local police on suspicion of sexually assaulting a woman and injuring her in April, an investigative source said Saturday.
The source did not say whether the man in his 20s admitted to the allegations before the referral on Friday. He was arrested after the woman reported the incident to the police through a third party.
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Japan voice actor demands TikTok operator remove AI-generated imitation
TOKYO - Japanese voice actor Kenjiro Tsuda is demanding in a lawsuit filed with a Japanese court that the operator of the TikTok app remove videos narrated by an AI imitation of his voice generated without consent, his lawyer said Saturday.
According to the lawsuit, a total of 188 videos on urban legends and trivia, featuring a voice similar to Tsuda's, were posted on an account between July 2024 and September 2025 by an unspecified user.
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Football: Beleza lose to Naegohyang of N. Korea in Women's ACL final
SUWON, South Korea - Japan's Tokyo Verdy Beleza were beaten 1-0 by Naegohyang of North Korea in the Women's Asian Champions League final on Saturday.
Tournament debutants Beleza fell at the last hurdle and were unable to present a win in the career finale for their 39-year-old defender and 2011 World Cup winner Azusa Iwashimizu, who remained on the bench in Suwon, South Korea.
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VIDEO: Shoma Uno and Marin Honda to form ice dance pair
