The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan population falls at record pace to 125.9 mil. amid COVID restrictions
TOKYO - Japan's population declined to 125.93 million as of Jan. 1, the largest fall in the overall number and by percentage since comparable data became available in 2013, as deaths again outnumbered births and COVID-19 border restrictions kept foreign resident numbers low, government data showed Tuesday.
The population came to 125,927,902 including resident foreigners, dropping by 726,342 or 0.57 percent from the previous year, according to data released by the internal affairs ministry.
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Japan PM to pick ex-defense chief Hamada for defense portfolio
TOKYO - Former Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada will return to the job and Yasutoshi Nishimura, who was in charge of the government's COVID-19 response, will serve as industry minister in a revamped Cabinet, sources familiar with the plan said Tuesday.
Prime Minister Fumio Kishida plans to reshuffle his Cabinet and executives at the ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Wednesday.
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Nagasaki urges nuke elimination as city marks 77th A-bomb anniv.
NAGASAKI - Nagasaki marked the 77th anniversary Tuesday of the U.S. atomic bombing of the southwestern Japan city during World War II, with Mayor Tomihisa Taue calling for the abolition of nuclear weapons amid mounting concern over their potential use following Russia's invasion of Ukraine.
The atomic bombing of Nagasaki, three days after a similar bomb was dropped on Hiroshima around 300 kilometers to the northeast, had taken the lives of an estimated 74,000 people by the end of 1945, with many others suffering from the effects of burns and radiation-related illnesses long after the attack.
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Taiwan warns Chinese military drills signal expanded ambition
TAIPEI - Taiwan's Foreign Minister Joseph Wu on Tuesday condemned China's military exercises around the island, saying Beijing's ambitions go beyond Taiwan while calling for international support to resist what he called its expanded authoritarianism.
The exercises, which came in response to U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi's visit to Taiwan last week, were "a serious provocation" and a "gross violation of Taiwan's rights under international law," Wu told a press conference.
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Russia to stop accepting U.S. nuke inspections, blames sanctions
TOKYO - Russia on Monday said it will temporarily stop accepting U.S. delegations for routine inspections of its nuclear arms under the New START treaty, citing sanctions imposed on Moscow by Western countries preventing Russian officials from making reciprocal visits to the United States.
The inspections are part of the bilateral New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty, which limits each state to deploying no more than 1,550 nuclear warheads.
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Obama among international dignitaries expected at Abe state funeral
TOKYO - The Japanese government is arranging for former U.S. President Barack Obama to attend a state funeral for slain former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe next month, a government source said Tuesday.
Other figures who may attend the Sept. 27 ceremony include French President Emmanuel Macron and former German Chancellor Angela Merkel, while Russian President Vladimir Putin is expected to be absent, the source said.
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Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake dies at 84
TOKYO - World-renowned Japanese fashion designer Issey Miyake, known for his designs incorporating cutting-edge silhouettes and heavily pleated fabrics, died last Friday of liver cancer, his office said Tuesday. He was 84.
Born in the western city of Hiroshima, he was honored with Japan's Order of Culture in 2010 for his contributions to the fashion industry.
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Former U.S. President Trump says FBI raided his Mar-a-Lago home
WASHINGTON - Former U.S. President Donald Trump said Monday his Mar-a-Lago estate home in the southern state of Florida was raided by FBI agents.
One of his sons, Eric Trump, said later in a television interview the investigation is linked to whether any classified records were taken from the White House at the end of Trump's presidency.
