The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan's mass vaccination centers in Tokyo, Osaka get in full swing
TOKYO - Japan's so-far sluggish COVID-19 vaccination efforts got a lift Monday as two state-run mass inoculation centers in Tokyo and Osaka got up to full speed one week after their opening.
The two venues, which are run by Self-Defense Forces personnel and due to operate for three months, reached their target of offering a maximum 10,000 and 5,000 jabs per day respectively as Japan seeks to complete the vaccination of those aged 65 or older, as well those turning 65 this fiscal year, by the end of July.
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China to allow couples to have 3rd child amid low birthrate
BEIJING - The ruling Chinese Communist Party has decided to allow the country's married couples to have a third child, the official Xinhua News Agency reported Monday, in a major policy change to grapple with the negative effects of the low birthrate.
China's population has been aging, due largely to its "one-child policy" introduced in 1979, but it was scrapped in 2016 as worries grew that a rapidly aging population would constrain the nation's economic expansion.
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Japan approves Pfizer's COVID-19 vaccine for ages 12-15
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Monday approved Pfizer Inc.'s COVID-19 vaccine for 12- to 15-year-olds, the first shot to be made available to children in the country.
The age group will be able to receive shots free of charge in addition to those aged 16 and older already eligible, a health ministry panel decided at a meeting in the afternoon.
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Tennis: Naomi Osaka faces French Open disqualification for avoiding media
PARIS - French Open organizers have fined Naomi Osaka $15,000 and threatened to disqualify her from the tournament after the world No. 2 skipped a press conference following her first-round victory Sunday over Romania's Patricia Maria Tig.
In a lengthy statement, the board of the four Grand Slam tournaments said Osaka had been fined for refusing to "honor her contractual media obligations" and faced suspension or expulsion from the event if she continued to snub the press.
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Australian Olympic softball team takes off for Tokyo
SYDNEY - Members of the Australian women's softball team departed Sydney on Monday, set to become the first group of Olympic athletes to arrive in Japan for the Tokyo Games.
The 23 "Aussie Spirit" players and five staff will arrive in Tokyo on Tuesday before commencing pre-Olympics training in Ota, Gunma Prefecture, northwest of Tokyo.
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China brushes aside U.S. accusation of forced labor on fishing fleet
BEIJING - China on Monday brushed aside the U.S. accusation of forced labor on a fleet of fishing vessels, saying such information is "purely fabricated."
On Friday, the U.S. government said it had blocked imports of tuna and other seafood harvested by the fleet operated by a company based in China's northeastern port city of Dalian over alleged forced labor.
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Japan's Airdo, Solaseed Air seek to ride out pandemic through merger
TOKYO - Japanese regional airlines Airdo Co. and Solaseed Air Inc. said Monday they will set up a holding company in October 2022 to reduce costs through joint aircraft maintenance and procurement of supplies.
As part of efforts to improve their financial standing, hit hard by the coronavirus pandemic, Airdo and Solaseed also said they will raise 7 billion yen ($64 million) and 2.5 billion yen, respectively, in fresh capital, by issuing preferred shares to the state-backed Development Bank of Japan and regional banks.
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No. of Japan visas issued in 2020 drops record 87% due to pandemic
TOKYO - The number of visas issued by Japan in 2020 dropped around 87 percent from a year earlier, the sharpest decline since comparable records were made available in 1999, due to pandemic-induced travel restrictions, the Foreign Ministry said Monday.
A ministry official said Japan's entry ban, toughened quarantine and testing requirements before, upon and after landing, as well as recurring waves of infections had prevented or discouraged foreign visitors from coming to the country.
