TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM Takaichi to head to Europe for talks with G7 leaders
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is set to leave Saturday for her first trip to Europe since taking office last October, hoping to work with other leaders to address what has become the world's worst energy crisis since the 1970s.
Takaichi will visit Britain and Italy before attending the three-day Group of Seven summit beginning Monday in the French resort town of Evian-les-Bains. Energy security, critical mineral supply chains and geopolitical tensions are expected to top the agenda.
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U.S. says deal with Iran includes reopening of Strait of Hormuz
WASHINGTON - A senior U.S. administration official said Friday that a prospective peace agreement with Iran includes the immediate reopening of the Strait of Hormuz.
The official said the so-called memorandum of understanding, which serves as an initial framework for ending the war with Iran, is expected to be signed "over the next few days."
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SpaceX debuts in New York, raises $75 billion in world's largest IPO
NEW YORK - American entrepreneur Elon Musk's SpaceX went public on the Nasdaq stock exchange in New York on Friday, raising $75 billion in the world's largest initial public offering.
With an IPO price of $135 per share fixed the previous day, the total valuation of the company, a leader in space exploration combined with an artificial-intelligence business, came to around $1.77 trillion.
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Newly developed Japan citrus likely carried off, saplings on sale in China
TOKYO - The Japanese government said Friday that specimens of a quality citrus hybrid recently developed by Ehime Prefecture in western Japan may have been surreptitiously removed from the country.
The government has confirmed that saplings of Ehime Kashi No. 48, marketed commercially as Beni Princess, have appeared for sale online in China, farm minister Norikazu Suzuki told reporters.
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Gov't to consider scrapping loss-making public-private Cool Japan fund
TOKYO - The government is expected to consider scrapping a loss-making public-private fund established more than a decade ago at the behest of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe to promote products linked to Japanese culture overseas, sources close to the matter said Friday.
The fund's management company, Cool Japan Inc., had accumulated losses of 38.3 billion yen ($238 million) as of the end of fiscal 2024, largely due to the poor performance of domestic startups in which it had invested.
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Japan, Thailand agree to promote cooperation on regional supply chains
TOKYO - Japan and Thailand's foreign ministers agreed Friday to promote cooperation on strengthening regional energy and resource supply chains, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said, amid economic uncertainty from the conflict in the Middle East.
In their meeting in Tokyo, Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi told Thai Foreign Minister Sihasak Phuangketkeow he intends to expand bilateral cooperation in areas including security, science and technology as they mark 140 years of diplomatic relations next year, the foreign ministry said.
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JAL warned after 2 cabin attendants' drinking incident delays flight
TOKYO - Japan's transport ministry on Friday reprimanded Japan Airlines Co. and urged it to compile preventive measures by July 17 after an incident in which two cabin attendants drank the day before a flight in May, delaying a scheduled flight for about 40 minutes.
The female JAL employees had falsely reported in an internal investigation that they had not consumed alcohol in violation of company regulations, according to the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
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Japan business group postpones China trip after death of leader Kono
TOKYO - A Japanese business group postponed plans to send a delegation to China later this month following the death of its leader, former House of Representatives speaker Yohei Kono, sources familiar with the matter said Friday, a setback to efforts to improve strained bilateral relations.
The Chinese side has told the Tokyo-based Association for the Promotion of International Trade that arranging schedules during the planned four-day visit to Beijing from June 21, such as talks with members of President Xi Jinping's leadership team, became difficult, according to the sources.
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VIDEO: Baby Manx Loaghtan sheep listed as endangered
