The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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At least 146 LDP lawmakers had dealings with Unification Church
TOKYO - At least 146 lawmakers from the Liberal Democratic Party have had dealings with the Unification Church or affiliated organizations, a Kyodo News survey and interviews revealed Saturday, once again highlighting the close ties between Japan's main ruling party and the religious body.
Politicians' connections to the church, formally known as the Family Federation for World Peace and Unification, have become a source of controversy since former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe was killed on July 8 over alleged links to the religious group by a gunman who harbored a grudge against the church.
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Arrested ex-Tokyo Olympic exec may have been asked to favor Kadokawa
TOKYO - Haruyuki Takahashi, a former Tokyo Olympic organizing committee executive arrested in a bribery case involving a sponsorship contract for a clothes retailer, may also have been asked to favor publishing company Kadokawa Corp., a source familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The publishing company gave 70 million yen ($500,000) to an entity run by his acquaintance and prosecutors are looking into why the money was paid and whether all or part of the amount was transferred to anyone, the source said.
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Hino Motors cancels plan to produce trucks in Russia
TOKYO - Japan's Hino Motors Ltd. has canceled its planned production of trucks in Russia, with an assembly plant under construction in the country to be sold after completion, officials said Saturday.
The truck-making subsidiary of Toyota Motor Corp. said the decision was made after it re-examined its overseas operations and the business environment and was not related to Russia's invasion of Ukraine or a series of recent scandals.
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U.S. approves potential $1 bil. arms sale to Taiwan amid tensions
WASHINGTON/TAIPEI - The U.S. State Department has approved a potential $1.1 billion sale of military equipment to Taiwan, the government said Friday, in the latest show of support for the self-ruled island amid heightened tensions with China.
The sale involves logistics support for Taiwan's surveillance radar program totaling $665.4 million, Harpoon anti-ship missiles worth $355 million, and Sidewinder missiles that can be used for air-to-air engagements and surface-attack missions at an estimated cost of $85.6 million.
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Unification Church's donation coercion in Japan is problem: ex-exec
TOKYO - The Unification Church acts "clearly against public morality" as it has imposed an unreasonable quota for donations on its churches across Japan, causing many followers to go bankrupt, a former senior official of the religious group has told Kyodo News.
In a rare interview given by a former executive member of the group under his real name, Masaue Sakurai, former deputy director of the group's family education department, said the Unification Church was supposed to promote world peace, but began to emphasize organizational expansion around the 1980s and its requests for donations grew stronger.
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U.S. envoy for N. Korea to visit Tokyo for talks with Japan, S. Korea
WASHINGTON - U.S. special representative for North Korea Sung Kim will make a three-day visit to Tokyo from Wednesday and take part in a trilateral meeting involving his Japanese and South Korean counterparts, the State Department said Friday.
Pyongyang is believed to have completed preparations for what would be its seventh nuclear test and first since September 2017, and there is speculation it could go ahead with it soon.
