The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Ex-Foreign Minister Kishida to become next Japan PM after party vote
TOKYO - Former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election Wednesday in a runoff vote against vaccination minister Taro Kono, making him all but certain to become Japan's next prime minister.
Kishida, who is set to succeed outgoing Prime Minister Yoshihide Suga next week, will be tasked with shoring up an economy battered by the COVID-19 pandemic and strengthening ties with the United States and other partners at a time when China increases its assertiveness in the Indo-Pacific region.
----------
China Evergrande to sell shares in regional bank to state-owned company
BEIJING - Debt-laden property developer China Evergrande Group said Wednesday it will sell 1.75 billion non-publicly traded domestic shares in Shengjing Bank, a regional bank, to a state-owned company for 9.99 billion yuan ($1.5 billion).
Evergrande's stock sale to Shenyang Shengjing Finance Investment Group Co. is aimed at meeting its debt obligations, analysts say, adding the transaction effectively constitutes financial aid by the Communist-led government.
----------
N. Korea says it test-fired hypersonic missile on Tuesday
BEIJING - North Korea test-fired a newly developed hypersonic missile on Tuesday as part of efforts to achieve its five-year weapons development plan, state-run media said, fanning worries that it has improved technology on the hard-to-intercept projectile.
The official Korean Central News Agency's report came on Wednesday, a day after the Japanese government said North Korea fired what appeared to be a ballistic missile in the second such launch in two weeks, with the projectile believed to have splashed into waters outside of Japan's exclusive economic zone in the Sea of Japan.
----------
New LDP chief Kishida vows utmost efforts in fighting COVID-19
TOKYO - Japan's newly elected ruling party President Fumio Kishida said Wednesday he will give his utmost to bolstering the government's coronavirus response, as the country is confronting a "national crisis."
As Kishida, a former foreign minister, is almost certain to become Japan's next prime minister, he said he will work toward achieving a "free and open" Indo-Pacific based on shared values.
----------
"Golgo 13" Japanese manga artist Saito dies at 84
TOKYO - Japanese manga artist Takao Saito, the creator of long-running series "Golgo 13," died last week of pancreatic cancer, publisher Shogakukan Inc. said Wednesday. He was 84.
Saito, who died on Friday, was best known for the series, which follows the exploits of a highly skilled assassin. First published in 1968, it was recognized by Guinness World Records as setting a new record for volumes when its 201st volume went on sale in July. Its 202nd came out earlier this month.
----------
China to watch diplomatic policy of Kishida, Japan's next PM
BEIJING - China will carefully watch how Japan's former Foreign Minister Fumio Kishida, who won the ruling Liberal Democratic Party's presidential election on Wednesday, will develop diplomacy toward the neighbor amid souring bilateral relations.
As next year marks the 50th anniversary of the normalization of Sino-Japanese diplomatic ties, Kishida, who is set to become Japan's prime minister in early October, has affirmed the importance of holding summit talks with China.
----------
2-yr jail term sought for ex-Ghosn aide over financial misconduct
TOKYO - Tokyo prosecutors sought a two-year prison term Wednesday for Greg Kelly, a former Nissan Motor Co. executive, for helping his former boss Carlos Ghosn to underreport his remuneration by millions of yen.
In seeking the prison term during his trial at the Tokyo District Court, prosecutors said Kelly, 65, together with Toshiaki Onuma, a 62-year-old former chief secretary of Nissan, supported a system of "backdoor remuneration."
----------
Toyota's Aug. global output mark 1st fall in a year amid parts crunch
NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Wednesday its global output dropped 16.2 percent in August from a year earlier to 531,448 units, the first fall in a year, due to parts shortages amid the spread of COVID-19 in Southeast Asia and a semiconductor crunch.
Toyota has already announced plans to curb production in September and October, clouding the outlook for an auto sector that has staged a strong recovery in sales in key markets including China and the United States.
