TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM sends offering to war-linked Yasukuni shrine for autumn rite
TOKYO - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi on Saturday sent a ritual offering to Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo, regarded by Japan's neighbors as a symbol of the country's past militarism, at the start of its three-day autumn festival.
Takaichi, known as a conservative who routinely visited the Shinto shrine before becoming premier a year ago, is unlikely to visit the shrine during the festival, a source close to her said, amid strained relations with China and relatively stable ties with South Korea.
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Corporate tax rise may be option to boost Japan defense spending: sources
TOKYO - A plan to additionally increase corporate tax to fund a boost in Japan's defense spending is being floated within the government of Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The option is being raised as Japan is working to revise three key security policy documents by year-end, which would likely result in defense outlays of more than 10 trillion yen ($63.3 billion) annually.
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Nuclear reactor in northeastern Japan shut down to replace leaking valve
SENDAI - The No. 2 reactor at the Onagawa nuclear plant in northeastern Japan was shut down on Saturday so a valve in a piece of equipment related to the water supply can be replaced after a leak was detected.
Tohoku Electric Power Co. expects to restart the reactor in Miyagi Prefecture in about 10 days. On Thursday, the utility said a small amount of water had leaked from a valve and it announced plans to briefly suspend operations of the reactor.
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Mistaken Japan quake intensity alert issued after system safeguard failure
TOKYO - The failure of a system safeguard to prevent the overestimation of earthquake magnitude led to the issuance of a strong seismic intensity warning that was later withdrawn, officials of Japan's weather agency said Saturday.
The warning, issued at 12:40 p.m. Friday, predicted a seismic intensity of 7, the highest on the Japanese scale, for a wide area stretching from Hokkaido in the north to the Tokai region in central Japan. The warning, which sparked widespread transport disruption, was canceled by the Japan Meteorological Agency eight minutes later.
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Pro-relocation Okinawa gov. visits U.S. Futenma base transfer site
NAGO, Japan - Genta Koja, who became Okinawa governor late last month and supports a contentious U.S. base relocation plan, on Saturday visited a key transfer site amid comments that construction has been stalling.
Koja, who backs the transfer of U.S. Marine Corps Air Station Futenma in Ginowan to the coastal Henoko area in Nago within Okinawa, visited Henoko with Masaru Murai, head of the Japanese Defense Ministry's Okinawa bureau, and Lt. Gen. Benjamin Watson, the U.S. military's Okinawa area coordinator, according to the prefecture.
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Baseball: BayStars reach Japan Series after beating Tigers in Climax Series
NISHINOMIYA, Japan - The DeNA BayStars reached the Japan Series after downing the Hanshin Tigers 8-5 in Game 4 of the best-of-seven Central League Climax Series final stage on Saturday.
The BayStars scored four runs in the ninth inning to turn the game around and beat the CL pennant-winning Tigers, who began the series with a one-win advantage in addition to hosting all the games at their Koshien Stadium.
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Japan mulls average 30,000 yen yearly payments for 20 million workers
TOKYO - The Japanese government has presented ruling and opposition parties with a tentative proposal to give some 20 million workers on average around 30,000 yen ($190) annually in fiscal 2027 and 2028, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The figures were offered as a reference for an income-linked benefit program targeting lower income workers burdened by taxes and social insurance premiums. The upper income limit for eligibility could be set in the 3 million yen range.
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Japan to fall to 6th in world GDP rankings behind India, Britain: IMF
BANGKOK - The International Monetary Fund projects that Japan's nominal gross domestic product, measured in U.S. dollars, will be overtaken by India and Britain in 2027, falling from fourth to sixth place globally.
Since 2023, Japan has ranked fourth behind the United States, China and Germany. The IMF's GDP projections were released earlier this month, amid the yen's continuing weakness against the U.S. dollar and sluggish Japanese economic growth.
