The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan starts accepting requests for eased COVID quarantine rule
TOKYO - Japan's government started on Monday accepting applications for sharply reduced COVID-19 quarantine periods for vaccinated business travelers, ending a ban in principle on entry by overseas-based foreign businesspeople introduced in January.
The new rules, introduced following progress in inoculations around the world and requests from Japan's business community, allow business travelers to undergo quarantine for three days, compared with the 10 that formerly applied to vaccinated Japanese nationals and foreigners with residency in Japan when returning from business trips.
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Man arrested for Japan bullet train arson, had Joker attack in mind
KUMAMOTO, Japan - A man was arrested on suspicion of attempting to start a fire on a shinkansen bullet train in southwestern Japan on Monday morning, in an incident that appeared to be inspired by a recent arson attack on a train in Tokyo on Halloween, police said.
Kiyoshi Miyake, 69, from Fukuoka was arrested at the scene, they said. No injuries were reported on the train from Hiroshima bound for Kagoshima-Chuo Station, which was running in Kumamoto Prefecture at the time of the incident around 8:40 a.m., according to Kyushu Railway Co., known as JR Kyushu.
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China's ruling party begins key meeting with Xi aiming to boost clout
BEIJING - China's Communist Party kicked off on Monday its four-day key meeting in Beijing, state-run media reported, as President Xi Jinping is believed to be paving the way for a controversial third term as the country's leader.
The sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the ruling party is expected to end after a resolution is adopted on the major achievements and historical experience of its 100 years of endeavors.
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SoftBank Group April-Sept. net profit plunges over 80%
TOKYO - SoftBank Group Corp. on Monday reported an 80.7 percent drop in net profit to 363.57 billion yen ($3.2 billion) in the fiscal first half through September, weighed down by losses related to its investments business.
The profit nosedive came after SoftBank logged a record net profit of 1.88 trillion yen a year earlier, buoyed by a massive divestiture, including part of its stake in T-Mobile U.S. Inc., to bolster its finances.
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Japan gov't panel proposes more support for firms hiking wages
TOKYO - An economic policy panel of Japan's government on Monday proposed a fresh stimulus package to get the coronavirus-hit economy back in shape, including beefing up support for companies actively raising employee wages.
As part of its "urgent proposals" toward realizing Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's signature vision of a "new capitalism," the panel also suggested a large-scale subsidy program to encourage the digitalization of rural areas, as well as assistance for building state-of-the-art semiconductor factories to ensure a sufficient supply of computer chips.
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Japan defense chief visits ship being remodeled into aircraft carrier
YOKOSUKA, Japan - Japanese Defense Minister Nobuo Kishi went aboard the Maritime Self-Defense Force's Izumo helicopter carrier on Monday to see progress in retrofitting the ship into an full-fledged aircraft carrier.
Kishi inspected the deck of the Izumo, which has been reinforced to withstand the heat emitted by F-35Bs during short landing and vertical takeoff procedures, and was briefed on test runs using U.S. aircraft conducted last month.
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Japan cuts economy view to "weakening" in Sept. index report
TOKYO - Japan's government on Monday lowered its assessment of the country's economy to "weakening" due to deterioration in a key business index for September, the first downgrade in over two years.
The Cabinet Office revised downward its view by one notch from "improving" in the previous month, the most optimistic expression in the five-level evaluation, as the coincident index of business conditions for the reporting month fell 3.8 points from August to 87.5 against the 2015 base of 100.
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Judo: 19-yr-old Saito wins over-100-kg class on Grand Slam debut
TOKYO - Nineteen-year-old Tatsuru Saito won the men's over-100-kilogram class on his Grand Slam debut in Baku on Sunday, winning all four of his bouts by ippon.
The second son of the late two-time, 95-kg Olympic gold medalist Hitoshi Saito beat 2018 world championship runner-up Ushangi Kokauri of Azerbaijan with an uchimata in the quarterfinals before downing Temur Rakhimov of Tajikistan in the final.
