South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jung Kun (R) summons Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi to his ministry in Seoul on July 17, 2021, to protest remarks made by the ambassador's deputy. (Photo courtesy of South Korea's Foreign Ministry)(Kyodo)

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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1st case of COVID-19 found in Tokyo Olympic village

TOKYO - The Tokyo Olympic organizing committee said Saturday the first positive case of COVID-19 has been detected in the Tokyo athletes' village with less than a week until the opening ceremony.

The organizing committee did not identify the individual but said the infected person is a visitor from abroad involved in organizing the games, and not an athlete. The person did not share sleeping quarters with anyone, it said.

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Japan ambassador to S. Korea reprimands deputy for improper remark

SEOUL - Japanese Ambassador to South Korea Koichi Aiboshi has reprimanded his deputy for making an "extremely inappropriate remark" during a conversation with a local media reporter, the Japanese Embassy in Seoul said Saturday.

The announcement came after South Korean broadcaster JTBC reported the previous day that Hirohisa Soma, deputy chief of mission at the embassy, told one of its reporters that South Korean President Moon Jae In is in a tug-of-war only with himself over frayed ties between Japan and South Korea, using a sexually explicit expression.

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Olympics: IOC's Bach focused on winning over skeptical Japanese public

TOKYO - International Olympic Committee chief Thomas Bach said Saturday he is confident of winning over a skeptical Japanese public and expects a "safe and successful" Tokyo Olympics, despite concerns about coronavirus infections at the games which get under way next week.

Bach noted that the IOC has been informed by local organizers that around 15,000 athletes and others with accreditation arrived in the first 16 days of July. Each underwent testing upon arrival.

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Tokyo reports 1,410 new coronavirus cases, highest in nearly 6 months

TOKYO - The Tokyo metropolitan government reported on Saturday 1,410 new COVID-19 cases, the highest single-day spike in nearly six months and topping 1,000 for the fourth straight day, as the capital prepares for the opening of the Tokyo Olympics next week.

The figure in the capital, which is currently under a fourth COVID-19 state of emergency amid a resurgence of infections, follows 1,271 cases announced Friday and is the largest since Jan. 21 when 1,485 new infections were reported.

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Japan to rebut UNESCO request over Korean labor at World Heritage sites

TOKYO - Japan plans to rebut UNESCO's recommendations that the country should do more to explain about Korean victims of wartime forced labor at its Tokyo information center on industrial sites listed as World Cultural Heritage sites, government sources said Saturday.

At UNESCO's World Heritage Committee session held from Friday to July 31, Japan plans to explain that its exhibition at the Industrial Heritage Information Center on workers from Korea forced to work in the Hashima Coal Mine off Nagasaki, one of the 23 registered sites, is based on historical facts and appropriate, the sources said.

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N. Korea raps Japan's Tokyo Olympic map showing disputed islands

BEIJING - North Korea on Saturday criticized a map on the Tokyo Olympic and Paralympic organizing committee's website that shows a group of islands controlled by South Korea as part of Japan.

Japan regards the islets in the Sea of Japan as part of its Shimane Prefecture, but the South has had effective control of them since the 1950s, claiming them as its own. The islands are called Takeshima in Japan and Dokdo in South Korea.

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Thailand sees new daily COVID-19 infections surpass 10,000

BANGKOK - Thailand said Saturday its newly confirmed daily infections have surpassed 10,000 for the first time during the coronavirus pandemic, with daily COVID-19 deaths also exceeding 100 for the first time.

Amid surging cases, the government is preparing to take tougher measures to curb the increase, including imposing more mobility limits and closing more facilities.

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Baseball: Angels' Ohtani an all-star to team's staff, MLB

ANAHEIM, California - Japanese two-way star Shohei Ohtani on Friday donated his prize money from the home run derby to members of the Los Angeles Angels staff, while also being a huge hit with fans purchasing All-Star Game merchandise.

The first Japanese in Major League Baseball's home run derby, Ohtani received $150,000 despite going out in the first round on Monday. According to the Orange County Register, Ohtani distributed those earnings to 30 individual trainers, clubhouse workers and media relations people.