The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Japan to recommend Sado mine as UNESCO world heritage: Kishida
TOKYO - Japan will recommend a gold and silver mine site on Sado Island for the 2023 UNESCO World Heritage list, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday, defying opposition from South Korea due to what it sees as the site of forced Korean labor during World War II.
The decision marks a reversal of the government's initial plan to forgo making a recommendation this year. Former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe and other conservative ruling party lawmakers had stepped up calls for the government to register the site in Niigata Prefecture.
----------
Tokyo reports 17,631 daily COVID-19 cases, record for 4th day
TOKYO - Tokyo confirmed 17,631 daily coronavirus cases Friday, setting a record for the fourth consecutive day as the highly transmissible Omicron variant wreaks havoc across Japan.
The tally eclipsed the previous record high of 16,538 logged Thursday, when the nationwide count of new COVID-19 infections neared 80,000.
----------
Hostage dead after 11-hour standoff near Tokyo
SAITAMA, Japan - A 66-year-old man attacked three medical workers making a visit to his home near Tokyo on Thursday night, shooting two of them with a hunting gun including a doctor who was taken hostage and later confirmed dead, police said.
The 11-hour standoff came to an end early Friday morning after the police stormed the house in Fujimino, Saitama Prefecture, and arrested Hiroshi Watanabe for attempted murder.
----------
Toyota group tops global auto sales for 2nd straight yr in 2021
NAGOYA - The Toyota Motor Corp. group ranked top in global auto sales in 2021, overtaking Germany's Volkswagen AG for the second consecutive year, on robust sales in China and the United States despite a global chip shortage, data showed Friday.
Toyota said it sold nearly 10.5 million vehicles globally last year, including those produced by the group's minivehicle maker Daihatsu Motor Co. and truck manufacturer Hino Motors Ltd., up 10.1 percent from a year earlier.
----------
Japan to cut quarantine for COVID close contacts to 7 days from 10
TOKYO - Japan will further shorten the quarantine period to seven days from the current 10 for people who have been in close contact with someone infected with the novel coronavirus, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday.
The move comes as concerns rise over the stagnation of socio-economic activity, prompting calls from the business community for a review of the isolation period.
----------
China to allow U.N. rights chief to visit after Olympics: report
HONG KONG - China will allow U.N. human rights chief Michelle Bachelet to visit the far western region of Xinjiang after the Beijing Winter Olympics, The South China Morning Post reported Friday.
Bachelet recently 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 report.
----------
Japan panel says 35 people should be charged over vote-buying in 2019
TOKYO - A Japanese inquest panel comprised of citizens said Friday that 35 people should be indicted over vote-buying by former Justice Minister Katsuyuki Kawai for his wife in the 2019 upper house election.
With the conclusion, Tokyo prosecutors will reinvestigate the case after it decided in July not to indict 100 individuals, mostly local politicians, suspected of receiving cash from Kawai, who was in the post under then Prime Minister Shinzo Abe.
----------
Japan backs launch in April of police bureau to counter cybercrime
TOKYO - Japan's Cabinet endorsed a bill Friday to enable the National Police Agency to set up a new bureau and team in April dedicated to responding to serious cybercrimes.
The bill is part of Japan's efforts to centralize police activities related to cybercrimes that are currently handled by multiple bureaus, with concern increasing about alleged state-sponsored attacks from China, North Korea and Russia.
