TOKYO - The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan PM sends monetary offering to war-linked Yasukuni shrine
TOKYO - Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi sent a monetary offering to the war-linked Yasukuni shrine in Tokyo on Monday for its autumn festival, while the country's land minister visited the site, seen by Asian neighbors as a symbol of Japan's past militarism.
Takaichi, as leader of the ruling Liberal Democratic Party, paid for the offering out of her own pocket, according to Hiroshi Kajiyama, who heads the party's General Council. The prime minister also sent a "masakaki" ritual offering of evergreen twigs on Saturday.
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Japan seeks territorial solution with Russia 70 yrs after joint declaration
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Monday vowed, despite worsening ties, to continue seeking a solution with Russia on a longstanding territorial dispute over a group of islands off Hokkaido, as the countries mark 70 years since a joint declaration providing for a partial return.
The 1956 accord, under which Japan and the then-Soviet Union normalized diplomatic relations, stipulates the return following a peace treaty of two of the four disputed islands -- Shikotan and the Habomai islet group -- of what are called the Northern Territories in Japan and the Southern Kurils in Russia.
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Japan drafts guidelines favoring mix of paper, digital textbooks
TOKYO - Japan's education ministry has drafted guidelines making a hybrid of paper and digital textbooks standard from the 2030 academic year, with digital content playing a supplemental role, sources familiar with the matter said Monday.
While digital textbooks will become formal teaching materials in that year, the draft bars fully digital textbooks for students in fourth grade or below. The ministry will present the draft to an expert panel on Thursday.
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Japan to seek fair competitive environment for EVs in EU: gov't spokesman
TOKYO - Japan will seek "fair competitive conditions" for electric vehicles in the European Union market, after France and Germany's agreement to exclude Japanese-made EVs from a preferential treatment scheme, its top government spokesman said Monday.
Chief Cabinet Secretary Minoru Kihara told a press conference that Tokyo will "continue to closely monitor related developments" and "take appropriate measures," while noting that the preferential treatment scheme itself is still "under discussion by EU members."
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China's GDP growth accelerates to 4.5% in 3rd quarter amid strong exports
BEIJING - China's economy in the July-September period grew a real 4.5 percent from a year earlier, official data showed Monday, accelerating from 4.3 percent in the previous quarter as robust exports offset the negative impact of weak domestic consumption.
The year-on-year increase in the inflation-adjusted gross domestic product of the world's second-largest economy was within the country's 2026 growth target of 4.5 to 5 percent.
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M'bishi Heavy to revive shipbuilding line for defense equipment in FY 2027
TOKYO - Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. plans to restart its shipbuilding line in the western Japanese prefecture of Okayama in fiscal 2027, with an eye on building a defense vessel for the Defense Ministry, a source close to the matter said Monday.
The planned resumption is aimed at boosting construction capacity amid rising demand for ships, driven by the government's increased defense spending and efforts to promote overseas exports of naval vessels.
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Japan trade agency shuts down website due to unauthorized access
TOKYO - The government-backed Japan External Trade Organization said Monday it has temporarily shut down its website following unauthorized access.
The Japanese trade promotion agency is investigating whether data leaked, it said, adding it does not know when it can reopen the website.
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Gymnastics: Japan 3rd after "tense" opening to women's team competition
ROTTERDAM, Netherlands - Japan will try to move on from a "tense" opening day of women's competition at the artistic gymnastics world championships as it seeks to secure a berth at the 2028 Los Angeles Olympics, team member Aiko Sugihara said Sunday.
The Japan women's team stood provisional third after the third of 10 qualifying subdivisions in Rotterdam, totaling 161.630 points, with the United States leading on 164.529.
