The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan not pulling out of Russian energy project: PM Kishida
TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Thursday that Japan will not withdraw from the Sakhalin 2 oil and gas project in the Russian Far East despite firms of other countries exiting in response to the Russian invasion of Ukraine.
"It is an extremely important project in terms of energy security as it has contributed to the long-term, stable supply of inexpensive liquefied natural gas," said Kishida in a parliamentary session.
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Ukrainian president calls on Australia to impose stronger sanctions
SYDNEY - Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy called for stronger sanctions against Russia in a virtual address to Australia's parliament on Thursday, stressing global security is at risk as Russia threatens to use nuclear weapons in its invasion of Ukraine.
Speaking via a translator, Zelenskyy warned that fallout from a Russian nuclear attack could reach Australia, saying the war in his country is a "real threat" to Australia and other nations.
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Japan to send Foreign Minister Hayashi to Poland on Friday
TOKYO - Japan said Thursday it will send Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi to Poland from Friday in place of Justice Minister Yoshihisa Furukawa who was just found to be a coronavirus close contact, as part of efforts to assist those fleeing Ukraine due to the Russian invasion.
The government is considering transporting to Japan Ukrainians and Japanese nationals who have fled the war, aboard a government plane used for the upcoming mission, according to government sources.
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Japan to again designate Russian-held isles as illegally occupied
TOKYO - Japan will once again describe Russia's decades-long hold over a string of disputed northern islands as an "illegal occupation" in an annual foreign policy report, a draft showed Thursday, as bilateral ties sour following Moscow's invasion of Ukraine.
The classification will appear for the first time since 2003, reflecting Tokyo's shift away from a conciliatory policy stance towards Moscow, taken in the hope that progress in negotiations over the islands off Hokkaido could lead to their return in the future, to a more hostile position.
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Japan lists 7 items for supply action over current Russia dependence
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Thursday specified seven items including crude oil and liquefied natural gas as important commodities that need to be secured stably via producers other than Russia following the country's invasion of Ukraine.
Under its emergency measures to secure strategic commodities and energy resources for which the nation is currently highly dependent on Russia and Ukraine, the government will encourage other producing countries to increase output and boost efforts to secure Japan's position as destination for such boosted production, the industry ministry said.
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M7.0 quake hits New Caledonia
SYDNEY - An earthquake of magnitude 7.0 hit New Caledonia on Thursday, the U.S. Geological Survey said.
The quake struck 279 kilometers east-southeast of Tadine in the Loyalty Islands at 4:44 p.m. local time at a depth of 10 km, according to the USGS.
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Trial of Australian journalist begins in Beijing behind closed doors
BEIJING - A closed-door trial of Cheng Lei, a female Australian journalist who had served as a prominent news anchor in China, started in Beijing on Thursday, around 19 months after she was detained by authorities on espionage.
The trial was not open on the grounds of national security, and Australian Ambassador to China Graham Fletcher was prohibited from entering the court, according to Reuters.
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Nissan to end production of iconic Cima sedans in summer
TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co. is expected to end the production of its luxury Cima sedan this summer due to poor sales, bringing down the curtain on a model that became a symbol of bubble-economy era consumption more than 30 years ago, sources familiar with the matter said Thursday.
With the Japanese automaker intending to concentrate its resources on the development of electric vehicles, it will also pull the plug on production of the hybrid model of its Skyline sports sedan, the sources said.
