The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan's new foreign minister, Blinken agree on Kishida's visit to U.S.
TOKYO - Japan's new Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken agreed Saturday to realize an early visit to the United States by Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida for his first summit.
In Hayashi's first talks with a foreign counterpart since assuming the post Wednesday, the two top diplomats also agreed to bolster bilateral alliance and make efforts toward a free and open Indo-Pacific region amid China's assertiveness, the Japanese Foreign Ministry said.
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Sapporo eyes 20% cost cut in bid for 2030 Winter Olympics
SAPPORO - The northern Japan city of Sapporo intends to review its bid for the Winter Olympics and Paralympics in 2030, looking to reduce costs by up to 90 billion yen ($790 million) or 20 percent of the total, sources familiar with the plan said Saturday.
Sapporo, which hosted the 1972 Winter Olympics, decided to drastically slash the cost of holding the Winter Games in light of criticism of the snowballing expenses incurred by the Tokyo Games this summer.
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Fujii wins shogi's Ryuo crown, youngest to hold 4 major titles
UBE, Japan - Shogi prodigy Sota Fujii won the prestigious Ryuo championship Saturday with a four-game sweep of Masayuki Toyoshima, making him, at 19 years and three months, the youngest player in history to hold four major titles.
Fujii, who entered the best-of-seven series as the challenger to the 31-year-old Toyoshima in early October, earned the winning prize of 44 million yen ($386,000), the highest among the traditional board ----------
Lithuania urges Japan, other democratic states to unite over China
VILNIUS - Lithuanian Foreign Minister Gabrielius Landsbergis has called on Japan, the United States and other democratic nations to step up coordination in their dealings with China, citing "economic pressure" the European country is facing from Beijing in apparent retaliation for deepening ties with Taiwan.
In a recent interview in Vilnius, Landsbergis said Beijing "is not basing arguments on international law, just on power," in reference to sanctions he said China slaps on many Lithuanian companies operating in the world's second-largest economy.
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Taiwan, Honduras confirm ties amid China's pressure
TAIPEI - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen and Honduran President Juan Orlando Hernandez confirmed the importance of their relationship in a meeting in Taipei on Saturday, amid China's increased attempts to isolate the self-ruled island.
Honduras is one of only 15 countries that maintain formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan, which Beijing considers a breakaway province in need of reunification.
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Biden, Xi to hold virtual summit Monday evening: White House
WASHINGTON - U.S. President Joe Biden and his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping will meet Monday evening in a virtual format, the White House said, while tamping down expectations of any "major deliverables" coming out of their first bilateral summit amid tense relations between the two countries.
The two leaders, who have talked twice over the phone since Biden became president, will discuss ways to "responsibly manage the competition" between the United States and China, as well as ways to work together where their interests align, White House Press Secretary Jen Psaki said in a statement Friday.
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FOCUS: Toshiba split-up gives investors clear outlook, faces market scrutiny
TOKYO - The envisaged three-way split-up of Toshiba Corp. is expected to give more clarity to the business outlook and could spur realignment of its domestic peers as a logical step to respond to shareholders' pressure for a more-focused corporate structure.
The symbolic move, announced Friday, ends one chapter for household name Toshiba, marking a departure from its traditional broad portfolio of industrial and consumer businesses, a practice that has come under intense scrutiny by its shareholders.
