The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Yen tumbles to nearly 20-yr low against U.S. dollar
TOKYO - The Japanese yen plunged to its lowest level against the U.S. dollar in nearly 20 years on Wednesday, as investors unleashed the currency after the Bank of Japan governor expressed the intention to continue Japan's ultraeasy monetary easing.
The currency sank to the lower 126 yen level against the dollar, its lowest level since May 2002, as the unit continued its fall amid prospects of a widening monetary policy gap between Japan's central bank and the U.S. Federal Reserve, which has started tightening its monetary policy to curb rising inflation.
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Japan enacts law to allow SDF to engage in foreigner-only rescues
TOKYO - Japan on Wednesday enacted a law to allow the Self-Defense Forces to conduct rescue missions for foreign nationals only, after Tokyo failed to evacuate many of its local embassy staff in Afghanistan following the Taliban's return to power last August.
The House of Councillors passed a bill to remove a restriction in the law on SDF operations limiting the rescue of non-Japanese individuals to those accompanying Japanese citizens.
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Japan, Greece vow to resolutely deal with Russian invasion of Ukraine
TOKYO - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi and his Greek counterpart Nikos Dendias pledged Wednesday to work together to resolutely deal with Russia's invasion of Ukraine, criticizing it as a serious breach of international law.
Hayashi said at a press event after meeting with Dendias in Tokyo that the foundation of the international order has been threatened by Moscow's invasion of its neighboring nation since late February, calling for unity within the international community.
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U.S. carrier, Japan defense force vessels conduct drills in Sea of Japan
TOKYO - The United States and Japan have been conducting a joint naval exercise involving a U.S. aircraft carrier and vessels of Japan's Maritime Self-Defense Force in the Sea of Japan, the U.S. 7th Fleet said Wednesday, amid North Korea's growing nuclear and missile threats.
The strike group of the nuclear-powered carrier, the Abraham Lincoln, started the exercise on Friday last week with MSDF, according to the U.S. 7th Fleet. It is the first deployment of a U.S. aircraft carrier to the waters off the Korean Peninsula since November 2017, South Korea's Yonhap News Agency reported.
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Australia asks Solomon Islands not to sign security pact with China
SYDNEY - Australia on Wednesday asked the Solomon Islands not to sign a proposed security agreement between the Pacific Island nation and China, which Canberra fears could lead to the establishment of a Chinese military presence on the island.
The proposed deal was agreed upon by the two countries on March 31 and established a framework that could allow Beijing to deploy forces to "protect the safety of Chinese personnel and major projects in Solomon Islands," according to a draft official document leaked on social media.
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S. Korea's Yoon picks Park, Kwon as foreign, unification ministers
SEOUL - South Korea's President-elect Yoon Suk Yeol on Wednesday nominated veteran lawmakers Park Jin and Kwon Young Se as foreign minister and unification minister, respectively, in his new administration to be launched next month.
Park, a four-term lawmaker of Yoon's People Power Party, is an expert on the U.S.-South Korea relationship, the incoming leader said at a press conference, adding that Park could "normalize (South Korea's) foreign affairs based on his rich experiences."
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H.K. leadership hopeful Lee nominated by over half of voters
HONG KONG - John Lee, the Hong Kong government's former No. 2, officially submitted Wednesday his bid to become the city's next leader with nominations from a majority of the total voters, making him the clear frontrunner in the election slated for May 8.
Lee, a security hard-liner widely seen as the only candidate favored by the mainland government, has received 786 nominations from 1,454 members of the Election Committee, tasked with selecting the city's chief executive in the upcoming election, according to local media reports.
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U.S. human rights report says China continues "genocide" on Uyghurs
WASHINGTON - The U.S. State Department said Tuesday that acts of "genocide" have continued against the Muslim Uyghur minority in China's far-western Xinjiang region, revealing the findings in its latest annual human rights report.
China immediately criticized the United States, saying the report is "full of political lies and ideological prejudice."
