TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan explains stance to Pakistan after Islamabad, Beijing decry militarism
TOKYO - Japan recently explained its stance on defense issues to Pakistan after a joint statement by China and Pakistan last month said they oppose "any attempts by fascism or militarism to make a comeback," diplomatic sources said Wednesday.
The document released on May 26 after talks in Beijing between Chinese President Xi Jinping and Pakistani Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif was taken as a swipe at Japan's efforts to boost its defense capabilities, as China has stepped up criticism of Japan in the international arena.
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Xi opposed attempts to "revive militarism" during North Korea trip: Xinhua
BEIJING - Chinese President Xi Jinping expressed opposition to attempts to "revive militarism" as well as "hegemonism and power politics" during his visit to North Korea earlier this week, the official Xinhua News Agency said Wednesday, with the leader apparently referring to Japan and the United States.
Xi's remarks at a welcome banquet hosted by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un in Pyongyang on Monday came as Beijing has recently stepped up its criticism of Tokyo's defense buildup policies advocated by Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi amid a bilateral row over her comments on Taiwan.
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Bear captured near Amanohashidate tourist spot in Kyoto Prefecture
KYOTO - A bear was captured Wednesday night near Amanohashidate, one of Japan's three most scenic spots, in Kyoto Prefecture, police said.
A person called emergency services around 4:35 p.m. Wednesday saying a bear had appeared and run toward a pine-covered sandbar in the tourist area, according to the police.
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Ex-lower house speaker Kono, known for apology to "comfort women," dies
TOKYO - Former lower house speaker and Foreign Minister Yohei Kono, known for announcing the Japanese government's landmark apology over Korean "comfort women" forced to work in Japan's wartime military brothels, has died, people close to his family said Wednesday. He was 89.
As chief Cabinet secretary under then Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa in 1993, Kono, who died Monday, issued an official statement acknowledging the Japanese military's involvement in the recruitment of "comfort women," often through coercion, and in the operation of facilities where they were kept.
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BOJ chief hospitalized, to miss policy meeting next week
TOKYO - Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda has been hospitalized for treatment of a hepatic cyst infection and will miss a monetary policy meeting next week, the central bank said Wednesday.
BOJ Deputy Governor Ryozo Himino will chair the two-day meeting beginning Monday, while the other deputy governor, Shinichi Uchida, will hold the post-meeting press conference, the bank said.
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Japan, Malaysia agree to boost energy, maritime security cooperation
TOKYO - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi and her Malaysian counterpart Anwar Ibrahim agreed to deepen cooperation on energy and maritime security in their talks in Tokyo on Wednesday as Japan seeks to diversify energy supplies amid the Middle East conflict.
Speaking to reporters after the summit, Takaichi said talks on defense areas included the signing of a coast guard cooperation document aimed at ensuring safe and free navigation in regional waters. Both nations promote the vision of a free and open Indo-Pacific, as China's influence in the region grows.
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Japan finalizing negotiations with U.S. to continue importing Russian LNG
TOKYO - Japan is finalizing negotiations with the U.S. Treasury Department to extend an exemption allowing companies to process transactions related to the Sakhalin 2 oil and natural gas project in Russia's Far East, in which Japanese firms hold stakes, multiple sources said Wednesday.
With a June 18 deadline approaching, the move is aimed at ensuring the continued import of crude oil and liquefied natural gas, the sources said, as shipments from the Middle East to Japan have plummeted amid a de facto blockade of the Strait of Hormuz.
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Rugby: Jones names 35-man Japan training squad, apologizes over outburst
TOKYO - Veteran forward Michael Leitch, Toulouse scrumhalf Naoto Saito and Japan Rugby League One rookie of the year Shunsuke Uenobo were among 35 players named Wednesday by head coach Eddie Jones in the Brave Blossoms' training squad for the slate of test matches starting next month.
The 66-year-old coach began his press conference in Tokyo by reading an apology for his "verbal abuse" of local match officials during the Japan under-23 side's April tour of Australia that led to the Japan Rugby Football Union slapping him with a suspension and pay cut.
