TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Yen surges to lower 157 versus dollar, Japan authorities step in
NEW YORK - The Japanese yen briefly surged to the lower 157 level against the U.S. dollar in New York on Friday, with Japanese government sources confirming a yen-buying, dollar-selling intervention by currency authorities.
Trading at 157.24 per dollar for a brief span, the yen hit its strongest level since mid-May.
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Thousands still sheltering after Kumamoto quake, businesses move to restart
KUMAMOTO, Japan - More than 9,000 people continued to take refuge at evacuation centers in the southwestern prefecture of Kumamoto on Friday, three days after a magnitude 7.1 earthquake hit the area, while many households remained without water or electricity.
According to the prefecture, the death toll as of Friday reached 36, and six were in serious condition. The number includes nine dead at Nippon Paper Industries Co.'s plant in Yatsushiro and seven at an Aeon shopping mall in Kashima that was rocked by an explosion following the temblor.
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Bessent says he awaits seeing Bank of Japan chief in late August
WASHINGTON - U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said Friday he looks forward to seeing Bank of Japan Governor Kazuo Ueda at the end of August during a Group of 20 meeting in North Carolina.
Calling Ueda his "longtime friend," Bessent said in an X post that "Japan's economy continues to perform well" under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi as well as the central bank's governor and other members of its top decision-making body.
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Japan protests China's new East China Sea structure, urges talks
TOKYO - Japan has lodged a protest with China after confirming a move to install a new structure west of the median line in the East China Sea, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Tokyo called the move "unilateral" resource development in waters where the maritime boundary remains undelimited and said it was "extremely regrettable."
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Japan ruling party lawmakers form group to promote trading card industry
TOKYO - Lawmakers from Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party have launched a group aimed at promoting the rapidly growing trading card industry, seeing its potential as a globally competitive content sector.
The group, consisting of some 20 lawmakers, is seeking to improve the trading card environment by setting up rules to address issues such as counterfeit cards and bulk purchases for resale. The group is also keen to enhance market transparency to support the industry's overseas expansion.
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2 people taken to hospital after apartment blast near Tokyo
CHIBA, Japan - Two people were taken to hospital Saturday after an explosion in an apartment building in Chiba Prefecture, east of Tokyo, police said.
The 6:35 a.m. blast in Ichikawa damaged the building's windows and walls. The police said the injuries to the two people were not life-threatening.
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Cooling toilets, shorter working hours introduced amid Japan heat
TOKYO - Japanese companies have been implementing measures to protect workers amid the extreme summer heat, such as introducing prefabricated toilets with cooling functions at construction sites and cutting working hours.
The government in June last year began requiring business operators to implement effective measures against heat-related illnesses, with the country experiencing sweltering summers in recent years. Firms that do not fulfill their obligations will be penalized.
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Tennis: Osaka comes from behind to reach DC Open semifinals
TOKYO - Japan's former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka reached the semifinals of the DC Open on Friday after beating Italy's Elisabetta Cocciaretto 4-6, 6-4, 6-3.
Currently world No. 13, Osaka dropped the first set on the hard court in Washington but won the second, with one of seven double faults in the match from her 71st-ranked opponent sending the contest to the decider.
