The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Talks begin for U.K. to join Pacific free trade pact
TOKYO - Negotiations began Tuesday for the United Kingdom to join the Trans-Pacific Partnership free trade pact as the country is aiming to enhance its economic presence in the region following its departure from the European Union.
International Trade Secretary Liz Truss held online talks with Yasutoshi Nishimura, Japan's minister in charge of TPP negotiations. Tokyo holds the 11-member bloc's rotating presidency this year.
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Tokyo Olympic organizers to allow alcohol to be sold at venues
TOKYO - Tokyo Olympic organizers plan to allow alcoholic beverages to be sold to spectators at competition venues during the global sports event but with restrictions to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
The decision was apparently made in consideration of a sponsorship contract with an alcoholic beverage company.
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Myanmar soccer player files for asylum in Japan after protest salute
OSAKA - A Myanmar national soccer goalkeeper applied for refugee status in Japan on Tuesday after expressing fear for his life for making a three-finger salute in protest at the military coup in his country during a recent World Cup qualifier near Tokyo, his lawyer said.
Pyae Lyan Aung, who refused to return home with his teammates last week after the football match, submitted an application with the Osaka Regional Immigration Services Bureau, according to the lawyer.
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Hong Kong leader denies Apple Daily arrests infringe press freedom
HONG KONG - Hong Kong leader Carrie Lam said Tuesday that arresting executives of pro-democracy Apple Daily should not be seen as an infringement of press freedom, rejecting criticisms from the United States that the arrests were "politically motivated."
Speaking in a news briefing, following the newspaper's announcement the previous day that it could be forced to shut within days as the government froze its company assets, Lam said the arrests were made due to its violation of the national security law.
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Japan in talks for S. Korea president to attend Olympics ceremony
TOKYO - Japan is in talks with South Korea for President Moon Jae In to attend the opening ceremony of the Tokyo Olympics next month, diplomatic sources said Tuesday, amid escalating tensions between the two neighboring countries over wartime history.
But Tokyo is reluctant to hold a summit between Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga and Moon if the president makes a visit for the July 23 ceremony, the sources said. Moon last visited Japan in June 2019 to attend the Group of 20 summit held in Osaka.
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U.S. top envoy, S. Korea's Moon agree to cooperate on N. Korea
SEOUL - South Korea's President Moon Jae In met Tuesday with the U.S. special representative on North Korea to reaffirm the two countries' willingness to cooperate for complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, a spokeswoman said.
Presidential office spokeswoman Park Kyung Mee quoted Moon as telling Sung Kim, who is on a five-day visit, that "the (U.S. President Joe) Biden administration's policy to gradually achieve complete denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula through dialogue and diplomacy seems plausible."
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Japan names Mori as vice foreign minister, succeeding Akiba
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Tuesday appointed senior Foreign Ministry official Takeo Mori as vice foreign minister, succeeding Takeo Akiba who is likely to become Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga's national security adviser.
The appointment of the 60-year-old Mori, senior deputy minister for foreign affairs, comes as the government is considering tapping Akiba, 62, as head of the National Security Secretariat to replace Shigeru Kitamura.
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Baseball: Padres' Darvish fastest MLB pitcher to get 1,500 strikeouts
SAN DIEGO, California - Japanese right-hander Yu Darvish struck out 11 and tossed six innings of one-run ball, setting an all-time Major League Baseball record and helping the San Diego Padres beat the Los Angeles Dodgers 6-2 on Monday.
Darvish's 11th strikeout was also his 1,500th major league strikeout and he reached the mark in just 197 games, fewer than any other pitcher in MLB history. Randy Johnson, who held the previous record, did it in 206.
