The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, South Korea agree to seek early settlement of wartime labor issue
TOKYO - The foreign ministers of Japan and South Korea met Monday in Tokyo to discuss how to improve their frayed relations over wartime and territorial issues.
Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi's meeting with his counterpart Park Jin is the first formal sit-down between the two since Park was appointed following President Yoon Suk Yeol's inauguration on May 10.
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Figure skating: Yuzuru Hanyu calls presser to make "major announcement"
TOKYO - Japanese figure skating icon Yuzuru Hanyu has called a press conference to make a "major announcement," his management company said Monday.
The 27-year-old will speak at 5 p.m. Tuesday in Tokyo, fueling speculation he could be about to retire from competitive figure skating following a string of injuries that have curtailed his time on the ice in recent years.
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36 Kyoto Animation workers killed in 2019 arson attack remembered
KYOTO - About 120 people gathered for a commemorative service in Kyoto on Monday to remember 36 artists and others killed in an arson attack on Japanese anime studio Kyoto Animation Co. three years ago.
The attack on the company known for a long line of popular anime works, including "K-On!" and "The Melancholy of Haruhi Suzumiya," shocked many fans at home and abroad who affectionately call the studio "KyoAni."
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FOCUS: New U.K. leader to aid U.S. in event of Taiwan contingency: experts
LONDON - As Britain's ruling Conservatives begin a contest to find a new leader and prime minister, experts believe whoever assumes the role will probably be the only European leader to offer front-line defense support to the United States in the event of a conflict with China over Taiwan.
Outgoing Prime Minister Boris Johnson, who leads the center-right Conservatives, is a vocal advocate of upholding a free and open Indo-Pacific and has won plaudits for promptly supplying Ukraine with military support.
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Japan's world athletics team hit with 11th coronavirus case
EUGENE, Oregon - Marathon runner Hitomi Niiya has become the 11th member of the Japanese team at the World Athletics Championships to test positive for the coronavirus, the Japan Association of Athletics Federations said Sunday.
Niiya, who had a fever before testing positive, was forced to pull out of Monday's women's marathon. Mao Ichiyama also tested positive earlier, leaving Mizuki Matsuda as the only Japanese running the 42.195-kilometer race on Day 4 of competition.
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FOCUS: LDP faction to come under collective leadership after Abe's death
TOKYO - In the aftermath of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's murder, his powerful faction in the governing Liberal Democratic Party is expected to operate under collective leadership.
While a battle for taking the leadership may occur in the future, the faction has chosen not to name a successor to Abe as chairman for now, to maintain its unity and avoid a possible breakup.
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Japan walks tightrope between no COVID restrictions, hospital strain
TOKYO - The Japanese government currently has no plans to impose restrictions amid the seventh wave of coronavirus infections, but it remains to be seen whether the medical system will be able to endure the cost of this decision.
Over 105,500 new infections were reported nationwide Sunday, almost double from a week earlier and topping 100,000 for the third straight day. Among the surge, partly driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant, the number of severe cases rose by 15 from a day earlier to 129.
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Unification Church corrects remarks amid scrutiny over Abe's death
TOKYO - The Unification Church, at the center of growing public scrutiny over former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe's assassination, on Sunday corrected remarks that it has had "no trouble" with its followers since 2009.
A group of lawyers had criticized the comments made by Tomihiro Tanaka, president of the Japan branch of the church, at a press conference last Monday, underscoring that the church has been facing a series of requests for returning donations even after 2009.
