Fans watch Game 1 of Japanese baseball's two-game All-Star series at PayPay Dome in Fukuoka on July 26, 2022. (Kyodo) ==Kyodo

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

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Japan's daily COVID cases hit new record above 203,000

TOKYO - Japan's daily COVID-19 cases hit a new record above 203,000 on Wednesday as the country has struggled with its seventh wave of infections driven by the highly transmissible BA.5 Omicron subvariant.

The previous record was set last week at around 201,000, according to a tally based on local government reports.

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Indonesia tells Japan all Fukushima-linked import restrictions lifted

TOKYO - Indonesian President Joko Widodo told Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Wednesday that his country has lifted all restrictions on imports of Japanese food products that were imposed in the wake of the Fukushima nuclear crisis in 2011, the Japanese leader said.

Following a summit meeting in Tokyo, Kishida said at a joint press conference with Widodo, popularly known as Jokowi, that they reaffirmed cooperation in realizing a free and open Indo-Pacific, with Japan vowing to strengthen maritime security in the region in response to China's assertive posture and military buildup.

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Japan debates green transformation push with 20 tril. yen outlays

TOKYO - Japan on Wednesday began a debate over how to achieve decarbonization and green growth by tapping 20 trillion yen ($146 billion) in government spending as Prime Minister Fumio Kishida sees green transformation as a critical component of his vision for a new version of capitalism.

Kishida appointed industry minister Koichi Hagiuda to double as minister for promoting green transformation, or GX, with the government slated to draw up a 10-year roadmap by the end of the year for Japan's transition to a greener economy.

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M7.0 quake jolts northern Philippines, 4 dead

MANILA - An earthquake with a magnitude of 7.0 jolted the northern part of the Philippines' Luzon Island in the country's north on Wednesday morning, the United States Geological Survey said, leaving four people dead.

Benjamin Abalos, the country's interior minister, said at a press conference that one death was reported in Abra province, the epicenter of the quake, and two in nearby Benguet province, and that 60 others were injured. It was not immediately known where the fourth death occurred.

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U.S. warns of major incident amid China provocations in South China Sea

WASHINGTON - Increasingly provocative behavior by China in the disputed South China Sea means it is "only a matter of time" before a major incident or accident occurs in the region, a U.S. Defense Department official warned Tuesday.

"In recent months, we've witnessed a sharp increase in unsafe and unprofessional behavior by PLA ships and aircraft, implicating not only U.S. forces but allied forces operating in the region," Ely Ratner, assistant secretary of defense for Indo-Pacific security affairs, told a think tank event in Washington, using the acronym for the People's Liberation Army, the Chinese military.

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U.S. House speaker Pelosi looks to visit Japan in August: sources

TOKYO - U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi is planning to visit Japan early next month, diplomatic sources said Wednesday, amid reports that she is considering a trip to Taiwan in a move almost certain to trigger an outcry from China.

The administration of U.S. President Joe Biden has been enhancing ties with Taiwan as China increases its pressure on the self-ruled island, which Beijing views as a renegade province awaiting reunification, by force if necessary.

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S. Korea's foreign minister vows to work on wartime issues with Japan

SEOUL - South Korea will work "responsibly" toward solving wartime labor issues with Japan, Foreign Minister Park Jin said Wednesday, with the two countries having renewed efforts to repair relations following the formation of a new government earlier this year in Seoul.

Park also called for the Japanese government's "sincere" response and touched on the need for the two neighbors to face history during a press conference in Seoul with foreign media outlets, while reiterating his strong willingness to build a future-oriented partnership with Japan.

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Ex-TEPCO execs appeal $95 bil. damages ruling over Fukushima crisis

TOKYO - Four former executives of Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings Inc. on Wednesday appealed a court ruling that ordered them to pay the utility some 13 trillion yen ($95 billion) in damages for failing to prevent the tsunami-induced 2011 crisis at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant, their lawyer said.

The July 13 ruling of the Tokyo District Court was the first to find former TEPCO executives liable for compensation after the combined impact of a massive earthquake and tsunami on the plant in northeastern Japan in March 2011 caused one of the worst nuclear disasters in history.