The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan gov't eyes quasi-state of emergency in Tokyo during Olympics
TOKYO - The Japanese government is considering placing Tokyo under a quasi-state of emergency during the Olympics, taking into consideration opinions from health experts, a government official said Monday.
The Olympics are due to begin on July 23, but public concern over a spike in the number of COVID-19 infections remains persistent.
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Suga's Cabinet to face no-confidence motion on June 15
TOKYO - Japan's opposition parties agreed Monday to submit a no-confidence motion against the Cabinet of Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Tuesday as the ruling coalition has rejected their calls for extending the current regular parliamentary session.
The plan to submit the motion Tuesday morning was announced by Yukio Edano, leader of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan, after he held a meeting with his counterparts from smaller opposition parties.
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Mass vaccination site to offer shots to police, other officials
TOKYO - A state-run mass coronavirus vaccination site in Tokyo will start giving shots to police and other officials in charge of crisis management in addition to elderly people nationwide to fill vacant slots, the Japanese government said Monday.
The move comes as many slots remain vacant at the Tokyo venue and another state-run mass inoculation site in Osaka although the government has started allowing bookings from elderly people outside seven prefectures in the Tokyo and Kansai areas.
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2 Americans plead guilty to helping Ghosn flee Japan in 1st hearing
TOKYO - Two American men charged with aiding former Nissan Motor Co. Chairman Carlos Ghosn's escape from Japan in 2019 prior to his trial pleaded guilty at their first court hearing Monday in Tokyo.
Before appearing at the Tokyo District Court, Michael Taylor, a 60-year-old former Green Beret, and his son Peter, 28, had said they helped Ghosn to escape after they were asked by Ghosn's wife Carole, 54, a person familiar with the matter has said.
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Toshiba board chair admits governance issues over gov't collusion
TOKYO - Toshiba Corp.'s attempts to influence foreign activist investors with government help ahead of a general shareholders' meeting last year were problematic in terms of governance and compliance, the chairman of the Japanese conglomerate's board said Monday.
Osamu Nagayama, head of Toshiba's board, apologized to people concerned, including shareholders, after a probe by lawyers revealed last week that the company sought the industry ministry's help in blocking proposals by foreign activist investors and the shareholder meeting was not conducted fairly.
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China denounces G-7 for interfering with its internal affairs
BEIJING - China on Monday denounced a communique the Group of Seven leaders issued the previous day after their three-day summit in Cornwall, southwestern England, as interfering with its internal affairs.
A Chinese Embassy spokesperson in London said the G-7 has slandered China and distorted facts on the Xinjiang region, Hong Kong and Taiwan and insisted China will resolutely defend its national sovereignty.
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Veteran Japanese composer Asei Kobayashi dies at 88
TOKYO - Asei Kobayashi, a veteran Japanese composer known for creating thousands of TV commercial songs for major companies in the country and animation theme songs, has died of heart failure, his agency said Monday. He was 88.
The Tokyo native, who died at a Tokyo hospital on May 30, was also a household name in Japan for playing a stubborn father in a 1974-1975 hit TV series "Terauchi Kantaro Ikka." The comedy, loosely translated as Kantaro Terauchi's family, featured actresses such as Meiko Kaji and the late Kirin Kiki.
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Japan begins anti-dumping probe into Chinese, S. Korean iron wire
TOKYO - The government said Monday it has launched an investigation into allegations China and South Korea are exporting iron wire at inappropriately low prices following complaints from Japanese producers.
The finance and trade ministries said they will judge whether to impose anti-dumping duties on the imports of hot-dip galvanized iron wire, mainly used for fences and other wire netting products as well as for tools to bind pulps. They are expecting to conclude the probe within a year.
