The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
----------
Japan's ruling LDP has highest pre-election support at 27%: poll
TOKYO - The ruling Liberal Democratic Party has the highest support rate prior to the House of Councillors election set for July 10, pulling well ahead of opposition parties, a Kyodo News survey showed Sunday.
In a nationwide telephone survey conducted on Saturday and Sunday, 27.3 percent of respondents said they will vote for the LDP led by Prime Minister Fumio Kishida when casting ballots for the proportional representation seats in the upper house.
----------
Kishida cautious about Japan acquiring nuclear-powered submarine
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Sunday took a cautious view about acquiring a nuclear-powered submarine to boost the country's defense capability, a call made by some opposition parties ahead of next month's upper house election.
"I'm not so sure if making the leap to a nuclear submarine is a good idea," Kishida said in an appearance on a Fuji TV program with other party leaders. He cited the difficulty of using nuclear power for military purposes under Japan's atomic energy law and the high running cost.
----------
M5.2 quake hits in Ishikawa pref., no tsunami feared
TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 5.2 struck Ishikawa Prefecture, on the Sea of Japan coast, on Sunday, but there was no danger of a tsunami, the weather agency said.
The quake occurred at 3:08 p.m. with focus was at a depth of around 10 kilometers, registering lower 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in Suzu city, at the tip of the Noto Peninsula, the Japan Meteorological Agency said.
----------
Japan, China diplomats to hold talks on suspected gas developments
TOKYO - Senior diplomats from Japan and China are arranging to hold talks Thursday to discuss suspected gas field explorations by Beijing in a contested area of the East China Sea, diplomatic sources said Saturday.
Japan will lodge a protest against the development work and repeated intrusions by Chinese ships into Japanese waters around the Japan-controlled, China-claimed Senkaku Islands, the sources said.
----------
Japan eyes hosting 2023 G-7 Hiroshima summit in latter half of May
TOKYO - Japan is considering hosting the 2023 Hiroshima summit of the Group of Seven nations in the latter half of May and aims to announce the plan later this month, government sources said Saturday.
The Japanese government has already sounded out the other G-7 countries about the idea of holding the summit in late May, the sources said.
----------
Artistic swimming: Yukiko Inui wins historic 1st gold for Japan at worlds
BUDAPEST - Yukiko Inui won the women's solo technical event Saturday in Budapest for Japan's first-ever gold medal in solo artistic swimming at a world championships.
Inui scored 92.8662 points to win the final at the Szechy Outdoor Pool on Margaret Island on the first day of action. A total of six finals in two disciplines were decided on the day and the June 18-July 3 competitions will be spread over four locations throughout Hungary.
----------
Tennis: Former world No. 1 Naomi Osaka to miss Wimbledon with injury
LONDON - Japan's former women's No. 1 and four-time Grand Slam champion Naomi Osaka will not compete at Wimbledon, citing injury, the tournament's organizers said Saturday.
The 24-year-old Osaka, a two-time winner at both the U.S. and Australian opens and currently ranked 43rd, said she had an Achilles tendon injury, according to the All England Club.
----------
Japan's NTT to begin remote work as norm for 30,000 employees in July
TOKYO - Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corp. will in July begin remote work as its new norm for around 30,000 of its domestic employees, treating attendance as a business trip and allowing for work and commute from anywhere in Japan, even by air, a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The telecom giant will have no limit set for transportation expenses and will pay for accommodations when employees commute to work after the company, like many other firms, has introduced different working styles as part of measures against the coronavirus pandemic, the source said.
