TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan's FY 2027 budget requests to top 130 tril. yen for new record high
TOKYO - Japan's budget requests from ministries and agencies for fiscal 2027 starting April are set to top 130 trillion yen ($819 billion), significantly higher than last year's record of 122 trillion yen due to the government's promotion of growth investment, sources close to the matter said Friday.
In a major budget drafting reform, Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's government has not set caps on ministries' requests for growth strategy spending. It will also secure funds for policies needing multiyear implementation, rather than drawing up the initial budget on the assumption that a supplementary budget will be crafted for additional spending.
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Japan Cabinet, ruling party exec reshuffle likely in late September
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi is likely to reshuffle her Cabinet and the executive lineup of her ruling Liberal Democratic Party, possibly in the latter half of September, sources close to the matter said Friday.
The timing of the reshuffle would be finalized based on the date of an extraordinary parliamentary session expected in the fall and her planned visit to New York for this year's high-level sessions of the U.N. General Assembly, according to the sources.
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China, Indonesia agree to expand defense, economic ties upon Wang's visit
JAKARTA - China and Indonesia agreed to enhance their defense ties and deepen cooperation in energy and mineral resources during talks involving their foreign and defense ministers on Friday in Jakarta.
Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi visited Indonesia as part of a two-country trip that also took him to South Korea, as Jakarta seeks to balance ties with Beijing and Washington while addressing tensions in the disputed South China Sea.
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ICC chief Akane says U.S. sanctions must not portend end of rule of law
BRUSSELS - International Criminal Court President Tomoko Akane issued a warning Friday that mounting pressure from U.S. President Donald Trump must not be allowed to mark "the beginning of the end of the rule of law."
Akane, the first Japanese national to lead the Hague-based court, has been sanctioned by the Trump administration, which has accused the ICC of encroaching on state sovereignty.
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Russia conducts missile test off Japan-claimed islands amid deepening row
MOSCOW - Russia's Pacific Fleet said Thursday it has conducted a missile test off a group of Russian-held, Japanese-claimed islands, prompting a renewed protest from Tokyo amid an intensifying row over the disputed territory following President Vladimir Putin's first-ever visit there last week.
While it was unclear exactly when the test was carried out, the announcement came after the Russian Foreign Ministry summoned Japanese Ambassador to Russia Akira Muto over Japan's protest against Putin's trip to the area.
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Japan ruling party sees room for closer cooperation with Pacific islands
TOKYO - The policy chief of Japan's ruling party said Friday there remains considerable room for closer economic cooperation with Pacific island countries where China has been increasing its clout.
"I could see why (island countries) have been increasing their dependence on a particular country, but there is plenty of room for Japan to contribute," the Liberal Democratic Party's Takayuki Kobayashi said at an online press conference as he wrapped up a tour of Papua New Guinea, Solomon Islands and Fiji that began Sunday.
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Myanmar workers sheltered by union over alleged abuse in Hokkaido
SAPPORO - Six Myanmar nationals working at a farm in Hokkaido, northern Japan, have been given shelter by a local labor union after allegedly being subjected to abuse and sexual harassment by farm staff, the union said Friday.
The six, men and women in their 30s or younger, were employed at the farm in Kyogoku, a town near Sapporo, under Japan's skilled worker program aimed at bringing in more foreigners to address the acute labor shortage in the rapidly graying country.
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Japan executes death row inmate, 1st since Takaichi took office
TOKYO - Japan on Friday hanged a man convicted of killing five people in an arson attack on a pachinko parlor in the western Japanese city of Osaka in 2009, the justice minister said, making it the first execution under Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi.
Sunao Takami, 58, was the first person to be executed in Japan since June 2025.
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1 dead, 9 hurt in fire aboard vessel under construction in central Japan
SHIZUOKA, Japan - A fire broke out aboard a vessel under construction in Shizuoka Prefecture on Friday, leaving one dead and nine others injured, local authorities said.
The fire broke out around 9:00 a.m. aboard a four-deck tanker being built by Kanasashi Heavy Industries Co. at the port of Shimizu in central Japan. It was extinguished about three hours later.
