The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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British PM Johnson eyeing visit to Japan in mid-Feb.
TOKYO - British Prime Minister Boris Johnson plans to visit Japan in mid-February for talks with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
During Johnson's planned trip on Feb. 15 and 16, the two leaders are likely to agree to enhance security cooperation in the Indo-Pacific, where China has become increasingly assertive in its territorial claims in the East and South China seas, the sources said.
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China envoy warns of "conflict" if U.S. promotes Taiwan independence
WASHINGTON - China's Ambassador to Washington Qin Gang warned of "military conflict" if the United States continues to take moves which Beijing perceives as encouraging Taiwan's independence, in an interview with U.S. media aired Friday.
"If the Taiwanese authorities, emboldened by the United States, keep going down the road for independence, it most likely (will) involve China and the United States, the two big countries, in a military conflict," Qin told National Public Radio, referring to the self-ruled democratic island which China views as its own.
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Japan's daily COVID cases hit record high at over 82,000
TOKYO - Japan confirmed more than 82,000 daily coronavirus infections on Saturday, reaching a new record for the fifth straight day, as the highly transmissible Omicron variant continues to spread across the country.
In Tokyo, the metropolitan government reported an additional 17,433 infections, while Osaka Prefecture counted a record 10,383 cases the same day.
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Extra univ. entrance exams held in Japan for those impacted by COVID
TOKYO - An extra round of unified university entrance exams started across Japan on Saturday for students who missed out on the annual tests earlier this month due to coronavirus infections and other illnesses, as well as the impact of a tsunami caused by a massive volcanic eruption in Tonga.
The two-day tests are taking place at 48 venues across the country with a total of 1,659 people allowed to participate, the second-highest number of attendees on record for follow-up exams, according to the National Center for University Entrance Examinations.
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China allows U.N. rights chief to visit Xinjiang
HONG KONG - China will allow U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to visit the far western region of Xinjiang, the Foreign Ministry said Friday.
Bachelet received Beijing's approval to visit the region with the understanding that it would be a "friendly" trip rather than an investigation into alleged human rights abuses against Uyghur Muslims, according to The South China Morning Post.
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Pakistan marks one year with no new case of polio
ISLAMABAD - Pakistan has marked one year without a new case of polio, the country's health chief said Friday.
Pakistan and its northwestern neighbor Afghanistan are the only two remaining polio-endemic countries in the world.
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Kochi seeks to become anime, manga hub as remote work base
KOCHI, Japan - Kochi Prefecture in western Japan, which has produced many famous manga artists, recently launched a project to boost the animation industry by setting up a remote working base to establish the region's reputation as a locus for anime and manga.
The Kochi prefectural government, together with three municipal governments and Kochi Shinkin Bank, are working to attract firms in the animation industry to set up satellite offices locally, enabling creators to work remotely even while away from major cities such as Tokyo.
