The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan punishes Russia over Ukraine with import bans, asset freezes
TOKYO - Japan will enforce additional sanctions against Russia over alleged "war crimes" in Ukraine, banning imports of coal and vodka, freezing assets held by major lenders Sberbank and Alfa Bank and halting new investments, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday.
The five-point sanctions list is part of Japan's latest efforts to add economic and diplomatic pressure on Russia to prevent further escalation of the war in Ukraine and bring about a cease-fire, Kishida told a press conference.
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Japan to expel 8 Russians, diplomats in coordination with allies
TOKYO - Japan will expel eight Russians including diplomats, the Foreign Ministry said Friday, as Tokyo continues to work with the United States and European countries to step up pressure on Russia to stop the country's ongoing invasion of Ukraine.
The United States and European countries have recently announced the expulsions of Russian diplomats over suspicion of involvement in spying and other activities. A Japanese Foreign Ministry official declined to comment on the reason for the decision.
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Japan so far has no plan to resume entry of foreign tourists: PM Kishida
TOKYO - Japan has no plan for now to resume the entry of foreign tourists to the country but will make a judgment after looking at the COVID-19 infection situation and border control steps taken by other nations, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday.
Japan, which has gradually relaxed its strict border controls, will allow up to 10,000 entrants a day, including businesspeople, students and returning Japanese nationals and foreign residents, starting Sunday.
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Japan PM pledges $500 mil. for global vaccine-sharing efforts
TOKYO - Japan will contribute up to $500 million to U.N.-backed efforts to ensure equal access to COVID-19 vaccines, Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday at a leaders' summit held to secure funding to boost the global vaccination rate.
The sum comes on top of the $1 billion already provided by Japan to the COVAX vaccine-sharing scheme as lower-income nations struggle to secure doses amid tight global supplies and the COVID-19 pandemic drags on.
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Baseball: Shohei Ohtani makes MLB history in two-way Opening Day
ANAHEIM, California - Japan's two-way superstar Shohei Ohtani made history Thursday as Major League Baseball's first player to both throw his team's first pitch and bat leadoff on Opening Day.
The Los Angeles Angels' reigning American League MVP, Ohtani (0-1), struck out nine while allowing a run over 4-2/3 innings in a 3-1 defeat to the Houston Astros. He walked one and allowed four hits, while going 0-for-4 at the plate.
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Australia to gift 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles to Ukraine
SYDNEY - Australia will send 20 Bushmaster armored vehicles to Ukraine, officials confirmed Friday, after a direct request from Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy in his address to the Australian parliament last week.
The first three Australian-made armored personnel carriers departed Australia for Europe on Friday aboard a military transport aircraft, with Russia's war in Ukraine now in its seventh week.
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Seoul regrets N. Korea demolition of symbol of inter-Korean project
SEOUL - South Korea's Unification Ministry on Friday expressed regret over North Korea's dismantling of a South Korean-owned hotel that served as a symbol of the 1990s and 2000s inter-Korean cooperation project.
Hotel Haegumgang was a floating hotel run by South Korea's Hyundai group in the Mt. Kumgang resort in the southeast of North Korea near the inter-Korean border.
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Japan aid agency head vows support for Ukrainian evacuees
TOKYO - Akihiko Tanaka, who returned to the top post at a government-linked aid agency earlier this month, vowed Friday to help people fleeing Ukraine following the Russian invasion of the Eastern European country.
"In addition to offering emergency financial aid to the Ukrainian government, we'd like to examine what we can do and provide necessary support to the evacuees," said Tanaka, 67, who returned to the helm of the Japan International Cooperation Agency on April 1 after a hiatus of over six years.
