The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, S. Korea, Australia, New Zealand eye summit on NATO fringes
SEOUL/TOKYO - Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand are considering holding a four-way summit on the fringes of a NATO leaders' gathering in Spain next week, a source close to the South Korean presidential office said Monday.
The envisaged meeting during the North Atlantic Treaty Organization gathering is seen by the four nations as an attempt to keep an assertive China in check in the Indo-Pacific after Russia's invasion of Ukraine heightened concerns about its implications for the region where Beijing has been expanding its influence.
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Japan court rules banning same-sex marriage not unconstitutional
OSAKA - A Japanese court dismissed Monday a damages lawsuit claiming the government's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, in contrast to a ruling last year that recognized it as violating the right to equality in a historic verdict.
In the suit at the Osaka District Court, three same-sex couples sought 1 million yen ($7,400) per person, arguing that the current system preventing them from getting married is "unjust discrimination."
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Kishida, BOJ chief discuss rapid fall of yen as "matter of concern"
TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida and Bank of Japan Governor Haruhiko Kuroda on Monday discussed the yen's rapid depreciation against the U.S. dollar, with the two seeing the current market situation as a "matter of concern."
Kishida told reporters after meeting at the prime minister's office that "there were talks that the sharp fall of the yen represents a matter of concern."
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Japan retains economic assessment, warns of prolonged war in Ukraine
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Monday kept intact its key assessment that the economy continues to recover from the coronavirus pandemic fallout, but warned of the impact of a prolonged war in Ukraine and slowing economic activity in China.
Regarding the current state of the Japanese economy, the monthly report said it "shows movements of picking up," maintaining the assessment for the third consecutive month, citing improvements in private consumption and business investment.
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Food prices rising in Japan, cooking oil up 1.5-fold on year
TOKYO - Food manufacturers in Japan have been hiking prices as a result of rising raw material and crude oil costs, data showed Monday, dealing a blow to households already hit by the fallout from the coronavirus pandemic.
The average price of cooking oil at supermarkets across the country spiked 1.5-fold in May from a year earlier, while that of mayonnaise was up nearly 30 percent, according to Japanese analysis company True Data Inc.
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Toyota appeals Australian order to compensate buyers over fault
SYDNEY - The Australian subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. has appealed a Federal Court decision in a class-action case that ordered the Japanese auto giant to compensate Australian customers who purchased faulty Toyota vehicles.
Hundreds of thousands of Australian customers who purchased the pickup trucks and other vehicles can apply for compensation from Monday, but payouts, which could reportedly total more than AU$2.7 billion ($1.88 billion), may be delayed pending the appeal process.
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Another M5-level quake jolts central Japan, agency warns of more
TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.0 struck Ishikawa Prefecture, central Japan, on Monday, the second strong quake to jolt the region in as many days, the weather agency said, while warning the next week may see more of a similar intensity.
No tsunami warning was issued following Monday's quake that occurred at 10:31 a.m. and registered upper 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Suzu, at the tip of the Noto Peninsula in the Sea of Japan coast prefecture, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. The focus was at a depth of around 14 kilometers.
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Security official named Hong Kong's new No. 2 as Cabinet unveiled
HONG KONG - John Lee, Hong Kong's incoming leader, will have a top security official like himself filling the No. 2 position in his Cabinet when he is sworn in as new chief executive on July 1.
China's State Council on Sunday unveiled the lineup of the new Cabinet that reflects its ongoing focus on "national security," with Eric Chan, secretary general of the territory's Committee for Safeguarding National Security, named next chief secretary for administration.
