TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Typhoon brings heavy rain to Tokyo after landfall in western Japan
TOKYO - Typhoon Jangmi brought heavy rain to the Tokyo metropolitan area on Wednesday, swelling rivers to dangerous levels and disrupting flights and trains, after making landfall earlier in the southern part of Wakayama Prefecture in western Japan.
The season's sixth typhoon had earlier raised flooding concerns in the prefecture, where it made landfall around 4:30 a.m. At one point, the weather agency issued its highest level 5 flood danger warning for the Koza River, saying it had begun overflowing its banks, before local authorities lifted an emergency safety measure for downstream areas at 8:50 a.m.
----------
Japan births, fertility rate at record lows in 2025
TOKYO - The number of babies born in Japan to Japanese nationals in 2025 fell to a record low of 671,236, while the country's total fertility rate -- the average number of children a woman is estimated to have in her lifetime -- also dropped to a new low, government data showed Wednesday.
Births fell by 2.2 percent, or 14,937, from the previous year, and the fertility rate edged down 0.01 percentage point to 1.14, both declining for the 10th straight year. However, the rate slowed compared to recent trends, according to data released by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare.
----------
Japan Cabinet OKs 3 tril. yen extra budget to help tackle high energy costs
TOKYO - Japan's Cabinet on Wednesday approved a draft supplementary budget of 3.11 trillion yen ($19.5 billion), just over two months into the current fiscal year, which began in April to help tackle higher energy prices amid ongoing conflict in the Middle East.
Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government hopes to secure parliamentary approval on Friday for the fiscal 2026 extra budget, financed entirely by deficit-covering bonds to subsidize gas and electricity bills and continue subsidies to fuel wholesalers to curb gasoline prices.
----------
BOJ chief says rate hike must be discussed despite Iran war uncertainty
TOKYO - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda said Wednesday the central bank needs to "thoroughly" discuss the pros and cons of raising the policy interest rate at its next monetary policy meeting later this month even if the situation in the Middle East remains unclear.
The central bank believes it is necessary to make decisions about future policy based on the premise that Japan is in a situation where the "secondary spillover effects of inflation stemming from higher crude oil prices are more likely to lead to upward deviation in underlying inflation," Ueda told a Kyodo News event in Tokyo.
----------
Tokyo stocks end at record highs on continued buying of tech issues
TOKYO - Tokyo stocks ended at record highs Wednesday as investors continued buying technology shares on expectations of robust demand driven by the artificial intelligence boom.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended up 1,667.89 points, or 2.50 percent, from Tuesday at a record 68,402.13, after briefly extending gains to over 3 percent to an intraday high of 68,786.49.
----------
2026 global growth to slow to 2.1% in prolonged Iran war scenario: OECD
PARIS - The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development said Wednesday global economic growth for 2026 is estimated to sharply fall to 2.1 percent from 3.4 percent in 2025, under a scenario that disruptions caused by the Middle East conflict persist well into 2027.
Meanwhile, in the case where disruptions, including to shipments through the Strait of Hormuz, are short-lived and energy prices gradually ease from mid-2026 onward, the Paris-based organization said global growth is forecast to slow to 2.8 percent, down slightly from the 2.9 percent expansion it estimated in March, its economic outlook report showed.
----------
Over 30 island nations join inaugural ocean forum in Tokyo
TOKYO - Around 300 representatives from over 30 island nations gathered Wednesday in Tokyo for a two-day conference to discuss maritime conservation and measures to combat climate change, on a scale that Japan's Foreign Ministry said is unprecedented.
The inaugural Island States Ocean Summit, hosted by the Nippon Foundation, Japan's largest philanthropic foundation, brings together state leaders and other officials from countries in the Pacific and Indian oceans, as well as the Caribbean Sea.
----------
Japan gov't, banks given access to latest Anthropic AI model for security
TOKYO - Japan's government and some banks have been given access to U.S. startup Anthropic's new Claude Mythos artificial intelligence model with advanced cybersecurity capabilities, the government said Wednesday, as concerns mount about cyberattacks led by sophisticated AI.
"There is no doubt that this will contribute to strengthening security" at a time when "it is unacceptable" for Japanese financial institutions to fall behind other countries in this field, Finance Minister Satsuki Katayama told reporters.
----------
Video: Bear appears in Fukuoka
