The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Toyota eyes 40% cut in global output amid chip crunch in Sept.
NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Thursday it expects global output in September to fall by 360,000 units, or some 40 percent from its initial plan, to about 540,000 vehicles due to a global chip crunch and the spread of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia.
The major automaker unveiled plans to suspend 27 production lines at 14 plants in Japan for up to 22 days by the end of September. Despite the production cuts, Toyota will keep its production target of 9.3 million vehicles for fiscal 2021 through next March.
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Nikkei ends at 7-month low on Toyota fall, U.S. tapering worries
TOKYO - Tokyo stocks closed lower Thursday, sending the bellwether Nikkei to its lowest level in seven months, on a late tumble in Toyota Motor as well as rising concerns that U.S. stimulus tapering may start earlier than market expectations.
The 225-issue Nikkei Stock Average ended down 304.74 points, or 1.10 percent, from Wednesday at 27,281.17, its lowest closing level since Jan. 6. The broader Topix index of all First Section issues on the Tokyo Stock Exchange finished 26.78 points, or 1.39 percent, lower at 1,897.19.
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Suga asks business lobby for 70% cut in commuters amid pandemic
TOKYO - Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga on Thursday asked a major business lobby in Tokyo to thoroughly implement telework to reduce the number of commuters by 70 percent to cope with the continuing surge in COVID-19 infections.
The request to the Japan Association of Corporate Executives known as Keizai Doyukai was made a day after Suga sought a similar action by the country's largest business lobby Keidanren, officially called the Japan Business Federation.
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Japan emperor to attend Tokyo Paralympic opening ceremony
TOKYO - Japanese Emperor Naruhito will attend next week's opening ceremony of the Tokyo Paralympics, the Imperial Household Agency said Thursday.
As was the case with the recently concluded Olympics, the emperor, who is the honorary patron of the Tokyo Games, is expected to declare the opening of the Paralympics on Tuesday night during the ceremony at Tokyo's National Stadium.
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Heavy rain continues in western Japan, mudslide warnings issued
TOKYO - Heavy rain continued to pound western Japan on Thursday, with the weather agency issuing mudslide warnings and forecasts of lightning along with torrential rain for wide areas including eastern Japan through Friday.
The Japan Meteorological Agency has asked people to remain vigilant against floods, overflowing rivers and mudslides as the ground in many areas has become saturated due to the rain that has been pelting down in wide parts of the country since last week.
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Ex-Deputy PM Ismail Sabri set to be Malaysia's next PM
KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia's former Deputy Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob is poised to win the premiership after securing a majority support, a top official of the dominant party in the National Alliance coalition government said Thursday.
Muhyiddin Yassin resigned as prime minister Monday after losing his parliamentary majority following a revolt within his ruling coalition, prompting King Sultan Abdullah Ri'ayatuddin to intervene to determine his replacement.
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Court approves seizure of South Korean company payment to Mitsubishi Heavy
SEOUL - A team of lawyers representing South Koreans who won damages from Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. for their wartime forced labor said Wednesday a local court has approved the seizure and collection of a payment intended for the Japanese company so that compensation can be provided to the plaintiffs.
The Suwon District Court on Aug. 12 approved the legal move concerning the 850 million won ($723,000) that South Korean company LS Mtron Ltd. owes to Mitsubishi Heavy after the Japanese company continued to ignore the November 2018 South Korean Supreme Court ruling against it, according to the lawyers.
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U.S. cryptocurrency bourse Coinbase enters Japanese market
TOKYO - Major U.S. cryptocurrency exchange Coinbase Global Inc. started operating in Japan on Thursday, its local arm said, as virtual currency investing intensifies in response to the impacts of monetary easing policies implemented to cushion the global economic fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The entry into the Japanese market by Coinbase K.K., which directly sells and buys major cryptocurrencies such as bitcoin and ethereum based on customer orders as well as facilitating transactions, is expected to intensify competition among similar bourse operators including the Tokyo-based bitFlyer Inc. and Coincheck Inc.
