Alpine flowers known as "chinguruma" in Japanese and technically named Geum pentapetalum are in full bloom on July 21, 2022, on a hillside of Mt. Asahi, part of the Daisetsuzan volcanic group of peaks on the northernmost Japanese main island of Hokkaido. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.

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Japan's daily COVID-19 count sets record for 3rd straight day

TOKYO - Japan's daily coronavirus cases exceeded 190,000 on Friday, hitting a new record for the third consecutive day, official data showed, as Japan experiences a seventh wave of infections driven by the BA.5 Omicron subvariant.

The latest count comes after Japan saw 186,246 cases on Thursday, with 35 of the country's 47 prefectures reporting record figures.

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Nuclear regulator approves treated Fukushima water release plan

TOKYO - Japan's nuclear regulator on Friday officially approved a plan to discharge into the sea contaminated but since-treated water accumulating at the crippled Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in the northeast.

The government and plant operator Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. are aiming to begin releasing the water from about 1 kilometer off the Pacific coast in Fukushima Prefecture around next spring. The water contains hard-to-remove tritium below an allowed ceiling and will be further diluted.

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Japan goes ahead with state funeral plan for slain ex-leader Abe

TOKYO - The Japanese government officially decided Friday to hold a state funeral for slain former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe at a Tokyo arena on Sept. 27, despite opposition figures questioning the need for the ceremony or outright opposing it.

Chief Cabinet Secretary Hirokazu Matsuno said at a press conference after the Cabinet decision that a secretariat was set up in the Cabinet Office to prepare for the event, to be held at the Nippon Budokan with foreign dignitaries among those attending.

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Japan ministry rapped for all-male lecturers' lineup in online course

TOKYO - Japan's land ministry has come under fire for its all-male lineup for lecturers in a planned online course about community development aimed at public servants, with the minister on Friday describing the lack of female representation as "inappropriate."

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism announced on its website and also tweeted earlier this week it will begin the course in September, but having no women among the 25 lecturers immediately drew flak from users of Twitter.

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Japan's core CPI jumps 2.2% in June, sharpest rise in 7 yrs

TOKYO - Core consumer prices in Japan surged 2.2 percent in June, the fastest pace in over seven years, topping the Bank of Japan's long-elusive 2 percent target for the third straight month, government data showed Friday, adding to the pain for price-sensitive households.

The nationwide core consumer price index, which strips away volatile fresh food items, marked its 10th straight month of year-on-year gain and underscores the sensitivity of resource-poor Japan to surging global energy prices. A weak yen has also played a big part in driving up prices of imported energy and raw materials.

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Japan to create 2 Cabinet minister posts to support startups, cut CO2

TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida said Friday he plans to create two new ministerial posts for promoting startups and decarbonization efforts.

He unveiled the plan during a speech in central Japan's Nagano Prefecture.

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Ukraine war may boost China-Russia military ties: Japan gov't report

TOKYO - The ongoing Russian invasion of Ukraine may lead to stronger military ties between Beijing and Moscow, the Japanese government said in its annual defense report released Friday, as Russia's rift with Western nations over the war deepens.

"For Russia, which is internationally isolated and has worn out its ground forces due to the aggression against Ukraine, the importance of political and military cooperation with China could increase," the Defense Ministry white paper said in a new chapter focused on the issue.

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Abe attacker tried to draw attention to church: analysts

OSAKA - As more details of the shooting of Shinzo Abe come out two weeks after his death, some criminal psychology experts believe the suspect tried to highlight issues surrounding a religious group by targeting the former prime minister.

The experts believe the assailant, Tetsuya Yamagami, 41, switched the target of his hatred to Abe from the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, widely known as the Unification Church, after he was unable to attack the group's leader.