TOKYO -
The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Landslide collapses house after record rainfall in eastern Japan
UTSUNOMIYA, Japan - Heavy rain lashed parts of eastern Japan near Tokyo amid unstable atmospheric conditions caused by warm, moist air from the Pacific, flooding homes and roads, while a two-story house in Tochigi Prefecture collapsed in a landslide, authorities said Saturday.
The landslide in Ashikaga on Friday came as the area recorded unprecedented rainfall, with 204.5 millimeters falling in the six hours through 10:10 p.m. the same day. The Japan Meteorological Agency issued a Level 4 Urgent Warning for landslides in southern Tochigi, urging residents in affected areas to evacuate.
----------
JR Central, Shizuoka sign agreement to begin maglev construction
SHIZUOKA, Japan - Central Japan Railway Co. on Saturday signed an agreement with Shizuoka Prefecture under a prefectural ordinance, clearing a key hurdle for construction to begin on the only section of the new high-speed maglev line between Tokyo and Nagoya where work has yet to start.
Construction on the roughly 8.9-kilometer Shizuoka section, part of the Southern Alps Tunnel that straddles Yamanashi, Shizuoka and Nagano prefectures, could begin within the year after years of opposition by the previous governor over environmental impact concerns.
----------
Japan's defense minister to visit Europe for joint fighter jet talks
TOKYO - Japanese Defense Minister Shinjiro Koizumi will visit Britain, France and Belgium next week for a series of meetings to advance the trilateral Global Combat Air Program, his ministry said.
In Britain, Koizumi will visit the Farnborough International Airshow on Monday before meeting his British and Italian counterparts, Dan Jarvis and Guido Crosetto, respectively, the following day to discuss GCAP, under which the three countries are jointly developing a next-generation fighter jet, the ministry said Friday.
----------
Rugby: Japan lose 42-15 to France, drop to 1-2 in Nations Championship
TOKYO - Japan made a positive start but were shut out after the break in a 42-15 defeat to France in Nations Championship rugby on Saturday.
The loss to one of their 2027 Rugby World Cup pool opponents leaves Eddie Jones' men with one win and two losses from their three Nations Championship matches in July.
----------
Sumo: Promotion-chasing ozeki Kirishima wins, in 7-way tie for Nagoya lead
NAGOYA - Yokozuna promotion-chasing ozeki Kirishima joined six other wrestlers at the top of the Nagoya Grand Sumo Tournament leaderboard on Saturday after rank-and-filer Shishi suffered his first defeat after seven days of action.
Kirishima (6-1) had to fight his way back from a patchy start against last year's Nagoya meet winner, sekiwake Kotoshoho (3-4), with the ozeki finding himself on the back foot before coming to a standstill in the middle of the raised ring at Nagoya's IG Arena.
----------
Japanese game maker Sega opens shop in Beijing, draws over 100 fans
BEIJING - Major Japanese game company Sega Corp. on Saturday opened an official permanent store in Beijing selling character goods, the second of its kind in China after one in Shanghai, with more than 100 fans flocking to the new shop.
Many customers sought items of popular Sega games including the Persona and Sonic the Hedgehog video game series.
----------
Monorail opens in disaster-hit area in northeastern Japan to boost tourism
SENDAI - A ceremony was held Saturday to mark the opening of a monorail in Kesennuma, Miyagi Prefecture, hit hard by the devastating 2011 earthquake and ensuing tsunami that triggered the accident at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant.
The monorail on Kesennuma Oshima, the biggest inhabited island in Japan's northeastern Tohoku region, connects the middle of 235-meter-high Mt. Kameyama with its summit, where an observation terrace, walking paths and a cafe have been developed.
----------
China-N. Korea trade increases 20% in 1st half of 2026
BEIJING - China's trade with North Korea in the first half of 2026 increased about 20 percent from a year earlier to some $1.51 billion, official data showed Saturday, indicating stronger bilateral economic ties amid high-level political exchanges between the two countries.
Pyongyang's main export items to China include wigs and artificial eyelashes, with low-cost North Korean labor used to process raw materials supplied by Chinese dealers before the finished products are sent back.
