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

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1st community spread of Omicron variant reported in Osaka

TOKYO - Japan on Wednesday reported its first community transmission of the Omicron variant of the coronavirus in Osaka Prefecture, with three family members having no history of travel overseas being infected through unknown routes.

Health minister Shigeyuki Goto told reporters that the cases in the western area should be deemed a community transmission and the government will take all necessary precautions.

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Panel submits 2 proposals to stop Japan royal family from shrinking

TOKYO - A government panel tasked with studying ways to ensure a stable imperial succession submitted Wednesday two proposals to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida that would stop Japan's royal family from shrinking further, but postponed conclusions regarding specific measures on succession.

The two options -- allowing female members who marry commoners to retain their imperial status, and male heirs from former branches to be adopted into the imperial family by revising the 1947 Imperial House Law -- seek to address the dwindling number of eligible heirs.

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Tokyo Games total cost at 1.45 tril. yen, no extra funds needed

TOKYO - The cost of hosting the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics last summer is expected to total 1.45 trillion yen ($12.7 billion), meaning there will be no extra burden on taxpayers as the amount is 191 billion yen less than an earlier budget plan, organizers said Wednesday.

The cost savings, presented at an executive board meeting of the games' organizing committee in the Japanese capital, were achieved mainly because most events were held without spectators due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Kihira to miss nationals, Hanyu a practice no-show

TOKYO - Two-time defending Olympic men's champion Yuzuru Hanyu did not skate in Wednesday's official practice for Japan's national figure skating championships, while reigning two-time women's champion Rika Kihira will miss the Beijing Olympic qualifying event completely, the Japan Skating Federation said.

According to the federation, Hanyu, who has been out injured, is slated to compete at Saitama Super Arena outside Tokyo in what would be his first competition of the Olympic season.

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Dozens feared missing after landslide at jade mine in Myanmar

YANGON - Dozens of people were feared missing after a landslide at a jade mine in Myanmar's northernmost state of Kachin early Wednesday, according to local media reports.

The landslide occurred at around 4 a.m. at the dump site of a jade mine in the Hpakant area where possibly up to 80 people were scavenging for leftover jade stones at the time, the reports said.

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Japan's FY 2022 initial budget expected to total 107.6 tril. yen

TOKYO - Japan's government will compile a draft budget for fiscal 2022 worth about 107.6 trillion yen ($950 billion), a record high for the 10th straight year, government sources said Wednesday.

The government plans to add 5 trillion yen to reserve funds for future responses to the coronavirus pandemic and prepare general account expenditures for the fiscal year starting April topping the 100 trillion yen threshold for the fourth straight year.

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U.S. asked Japan to send SDF during Gulf crisis: declassified records

TOKYO - In the wake of the Gulf crisis of August 1990, former U.S. President George H.W. Bush urged Japan to provide logistical support to the U.S. military via its Self-Defense Forces, despite constitutional constraints, according to diplomatic records declassified Wednesday and testimonies from former government officials.

The request was directly made to then Japanese Prime Minister Toshiki Kaifu. Japan did not meet Bush's call to dispatch the SDF to the Gulf War, although it deployed minesweepers in the Persian Gulf as a postwar contribution -- a reflection of the strong influence the United States has on Tokyo's security policy.

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SBI open to delisting Shinsei to repay public funds: CEO

TOKYO - SBI Holdings Inc. President and CEO Yoshitaka Kitao said Wednesday the online financial group is open to delisting Shinsei Bank to repay public funds injected into it in the late 1990s during Japan's financial crisis.

"It is an important option," Kitao said in his first press conference since SBI's successful takeover bid for the bank, referring to the possibility of making the bank private to repay some 350 billion yen ($3 billion) through asset sales.