TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Trump reverses plan to charge 20% fee on cargo transiting Strait of Hormuz

WASHINGTON - U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday scrapped a plan for the country to charge a 20 percent fee on vessels carrying cargo through the Strait of Hormuz that he had announced just a day earlier.

Rather than implementing the idea, he said that some Gulf countries including Bahrain, Kuwait and Saudi Arabia would invest a "tremendous amount of money" in the United States.

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Germany's Merz mulling Japan visit in late Oct. with security on agenda

BERLIN - Berlin and Tokyo are arranging for Chancellor Friedrich Merz to make his first visit as leader to Japan in late October for talks with Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi expected to focus on security, a diplomatic source said Tuesday.

The discussions in Tokyo are likely to cover drone development and deeper cooperation on defense, the source said, as the countries eye risks in Europe from Russia's ongoing invasion of Ukraine, the effects of the war in the Middle East and an increasingly assertive China in the Indo-Pacific region.

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Japan enacts laws to facilitate sewer pipe repairs after fatal accident

TOKYO - The Japanese parliament on Wednesday adopted legislation to strengthen the inspection and management of aging sewer pipes following a fatal sinkhole accident in Saitama Prefecture last year.

Under the revised Sewerage Act and related laws, Japan will introduce new safety standards for piping, based on the extent of corrosion and damage, and local governments will be required to disclose the results of safety checks and countermeasures.

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China's 2nd qtr GDP slows to 4.3% amid weak consumption, below 2026 target

BEIJING - China's real economic growth rate decelerated to 4.3 percent year-on-year in the April-June period from 5.0 percent in the previous quarter amid weak consumption, official data showed Wednesday, the slowest expansion since the 2022 fourth quarter when Beijing was battling the COVID-19 pandemic.

The increase in the inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world's second-largest economy fell below the growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent for 2026.

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BOJ chief Kuroda pushed through negative rate against opposition in 2016

TOKYO - Then Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda pushed through the unorthodox easing step of a negative interest rate in January 2016 despite opposition from several policy board members, according to the minutes of past policy meetings released Wednesday.

Four out of nine policymakers dissented from the move. Among them, Takehiro Sato said the central bank may "end up giving the impression that (its aggressive monetary) policy has hit a dead end" while Sayuri Shirai said the step could cause confusion for financial institutions and the public.

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Pilot for Japan airline ANA gets 20 months for groping flight attendant

TOKYO - A pilot of the major Japanese airline All Nippon Airways was sentenced to 20 months in prison Tuesday for abusing his power to grope a female flight attendant after work.

The Tokyo District Court ruled that Ryota Mise, 44, acted in a "mean and persistent manner" toward the victim when he took advantage of his position as a captain and touched her private parts at various locations in Takamatsu, Kagawa Prefecture, in October 2023.

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ASIA WATCH: Japanese singer hopes "JP-Pop" can strike a chord in the Philippines

MANILA - Japanese singer Nanao is taking an unconventional approach to the Philippine music market, pairing Tagalog lyrics with J-pop melodies in the hope of establishing a new genre called "JP-Pop."

After signing with a Philippine music label, the singer made her debut in late May and plans to release new songs about every two months as she seeks to build a following in the country.

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Baseball: Murakami "couldn't be happier" after MLB All-Star debut

PHILADELPHIA - Despite striking out in his only at-bat, Chicago White Sox slugger Munetaka Murakami said he "couldn't be happier" about his first appearance in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game on Tuesday.

Murakami led off the ninth for the American League and struck out swinging at a 1-2 fastball from San Diego Padres right-hander Mason Miller, who threw four pitches exceeding 100 miles per hour (161 kilometers per hour) at Philadelphia's Citizens Bank Park.