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

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Japan not to send senior officials to Beijing Olympics

TOKYO - Japan will not send a government delegation to the upcoming Beijing Winter Olympics, the top government spokesman said Friday, a decision seen as in line with a U.S.-led diplomatic boycott of the sporting spectacle over China's human rights record.

But Japanese athletes will attend the February games as scheduled, according to government sources. Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said Japan will send Seiko Hashimoto, a House of Councillors lawmaker and president of the organizing committee of the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics held this summer, and two others.

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1st community spread of Omicron virus variant confirmed in Tokyo

TOKYO - The first case of community transmission of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus has been reported in Tokyo, the metropolitan government said Friday, making the capital the latest area to confirm the spread of the highly contagious strain.

A doctor at a clinic in the capital with no history of recent travel overseas was confirmed to be infected with the variant through an unknown route, it said.

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Japan gov't panel OKs 1st oral COVID-19 pill

TOKYO - A health ministry panel approved Friday an oral COVID-19 drug developed by U.S. pharmaceutical firm Merck & Co., making it the first such pill to be used in Japan.

Molnupiravir, which prevents the novel coronavirus from multiplying in the body, was given the green light under a fast-track process after MSD K.K., the Japanese arm of Merck, applied in early December to produce and sell the drug in Japan.

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China calls on Japan to support Beijing Winter Olympics

BEIJING - China called Friday for Japan to support the upcoming Beijing Olympics, hours after Tokyo announced it will not send a government delegation to the Winter Games slated for February.

Japan should implement its commitment to supporting each other's Olympic Games, Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian told reporters.

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Japan, Taiwan ruling parties to boost economic security cooperation

TOKYO - Lawmakers of the ruling parties of Japan and Taiwan agreed Friday to bolster cooperation in the field of economic security with an emphasis on supply chain resiliency for semiconductors and other crucial goods.

During online talks attended by members of Japan's Liberal Democratic Party and Taiwan's Democratic Progressive Party, the Taiwanese side showed strong interest in a planned bill to promote economic security which Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's government aims to submit to parliament next year.

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Nissan, Mitsubishi halt minivehicle shipments on airbag issues

TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co. and Mitsubishi Motors Corp. said Friday they had stopped production and shipment of some of their minivehicles since earlier in the month after finding potential problems with the airbags installed in several models.

Nissan said that collision tests conducted on its Nissan Roox model showed that the airbags might not function properly under certain conditions. Mitsubishi said in a separate statement that similar issues were found in its eK space and eK X space models.

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All U.S. forces in Japan exempted from virus tests since Sept.

TOKYO - All of the U.S. forces in Japan had exempted their personnel from testing for novel coronavirus infections upon departure from the United States since Sept. 3 in line with U.S. policy, Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi said Friday.

Hayashi said the practice, which went against Japan's request to follow its border control measures, has now been changed at Japan's request. The practice came to light after a group infection was reported at the U.S. Marine Corps' Camp Hansen in Okinawa Prefecture earlier in the month.

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Toyota output returns to year-before level as parts crunch eases

NAGOYA - Toyota Motor Corp. said Friday its global production in November fell 0.8 percent from a year earlier to 821,329 vehicles, almost returning to the level a year earlier after months of lost output due to parts supply constraints amid the coronavirus pandemic.

The recovery in production reflected an easing of the supply crunch in Southeast Asia, the automaker said. The November figure marked the fourth straight monthly fall, but the pace of decline slowed compared with double-digit drops in September and October.