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

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Japan's researcher Kenso Soai wins Nobel chemistry prize

STOCKHOLM - Japanese organic chemist Kenso Soai and French researcher Henri Kagan won this year's Nobel Prize in Chemistry, for the discovery of "non-linear effects and autocatalysis in asymmetric organic synthesis," the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences said Wednesday.

Soai is a professor emeritus at the Tokyo University of Science in Japan and Kagan is a professor emeritus at the Universite Paris-Sud in France.

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Japan seeks preventive steps with U.S. after murder, PM tells Okinawa gov.

TOKYO - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Wednesday told Okinawa Gov. Genta Koja that Japan intends to take preventive steps with the United States after the alleged murder-robbery of a local woman by a U.S. Marine in the southern island prefecture.

Speaking in their first face-to-face meeting since the incident over the weekend, Takaichi said her government intends to further advance discussions with the United States on "what effective measures can be taken to prevent such incidents from occurring."

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Japanese travel agency H.I.S. reports possible passport data leak

TOKYO - Major Japanese travel agency H.I.S. Co. said Wednesday that passport information for as many as 627 of its customers may have been leaked late last year through unauthorized access to a server of its Thai subsidiary.

H.I.S. Tours Co., the subsidiary, was alerted to the breach by an unauthorized-access detection system on Dec. 11, 2025, and disconnected the relevant server from the network and restricted access.

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Tokyo bourse to revamp Topix index, cut constituting stocks by 40%

TOKYO - The number of stocks constituting a revamped Topix index will be eventually cut by around 40 percent to below 1,000 from around 1,600, as part of a review of the major benchmark on the Tokyo Stock Exchange aimed at drawing more investment, the operator said Wednesday.

The weighting of 683 stocks selected from the current constituent issues will be reduced on a quarterly basis from Oct. 30, while 35 new stocks, including McDonald's Holdings Co. (Japan) and Toei Animation Co., will be added to the index on the same day.

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Japan says China should show respect after reference to PM by name only

TOKYO - A Japanese government spokesman said Wednesday China should show proper respect after a spokesman in Beijing recently called Japanese Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi by name without using an honorific at a press conference.

"Even if there are differences in stances, I believe that showing proper respect to the leader of a country is a matter of course in terms of international protocol," Foreign Press Secretary Toshihiro Kitamura told a press conference.

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Estonian minister calls for global AI policy for education

TOKYO - Estonian Education and Research Minister Kristina Kallas called for Japan and other countries willing to take the lead in working with artificial intelligence in education to form a coalition to establish a global policy on what kind of AI is needed in classrooms.

Saying that the European Union's existing regulations are insufficient on their own, Kallas emphasized in an interview with Kyodo News in Tokyo on Tuesday that countries need to "come together" and "globally regulate" AI on aspects including privacy issues, bias, and other forms of harm it can do to humans.

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Japan releases 9 crested ibises in wild, 2nd time on main island

KANAZAWA, Japan - Nine crested ibises were released into the wild in central Japan on Wednesday, marking the second such event on the country's main island of Honshu as part of efforts to increase the population of the endangered species.

The release of the birds, designated as special natural treasures, in Nakanoto, Ishikawa Prefecture, came after 18 crested ibises were returned to the wild in Hakui in the same prefecture in May and June.

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Sumo: Aonishiki looks to build strength for Kyushu title bid

EBINA, Japan - Ozeki Aonishiki said Wednesday he is focused on training and rebuilding his strength as he seeks to win the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament next month, having fallen short in a winner-take-all championship bout at the recent Autumn meet.

"I have no choice but to train and become stronger," Aonishiki said during the Japan Sumo Association's regional tour stop in Ebina, Kanagawa Prefecture.