The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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U.S. aircraft carrier to return after N. Korea shot missile over Japan
SEOUL - A U.S. aircraft carrier will be redeployed to waters east of South Korea on Wednesday, South Korea's military said, one day after North Korea launched a ballistic missile over Japan and brought swift condemnation from the United States and its regional allies in response.
Earlier Wednesday, South Korea and the United States fired four tactical surface-to-surface missiles toward the Sea of Japan during a joint drill conducted as part of their response to the North Korean missile launch.
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Japan's opposition steps up offensive against beleaguered PM Kishida
TOKYO - Japanese opposition parties on Wednesday stepped up their offensive against Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, who has been involved in several controversies, including his ruling party's suspicious ties with the dubious Unification Church and apparent favoritism toward his son.
During the first full-ledged parliamentary debate since Kishida reshuffled his Cabinet in August, the premier refused a call by the opposition bloc to replace a Cabinet member with questionable ties to the religious group.
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Japan reopens embassy in Kyiv after 7-month closure amid Russia war
KYIV - Japan reopened its embassy in Kyiv on Wednesday following a seven-month closure due to Russia's invasion of Ukraine, the Foreign Ministry said, as the security situation has improved.
Staff at the embassy had been transferred to a temporary liaison office set up in the western city of Lviv in March. But as Russia's invasion intensified, they left Ukraine later that month.
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Japan, S. Korea leaders to hold phone call on Oct. 6 over N. Korea
TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is planning to hold phone talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday, two days after North Korea launched a ballistic missile in violation of U.N. Security Council resolutions, Japanese government sources said.
The leaders of the two nations are expected to confirm close cooperation in response to Pyongyang's military threat, rekindled Tuesday by the first firing of a ballistic missile over the Japanese archipelago in five years, the sources said Wednesday.
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Decoupling from China unrealistic: Taiwan high-ranking official
TAIPEI - It is unrealistic for Taiwan to completely decouple from China, the self-ruled island's largest trading partner, Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi said on Wednesday, despite growing tensions between Beijing and Taipei.
Chen said China is the world's largest manufacturing power, the world's largest trading country, and Taiwan's largest trading partner.
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Mizuho eyes 20% stake in Rakuten Securities for $554 million
TOKYO - Mizuho Financial Group Inc. is considering investing about 80 billion yen ($554 million) to acquire a roughly 20 percent stake in Rakuten Securities Inc., sources familiar with the matter said Wednesday.
The plan comes after Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group Inc. has invested in internet financial giant SBI Holdings Inc., heating up competition among Japanese megabanks seeking to poach customers through online brokerages.
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iPhone 14 cheapest in Japan among 37 countries: survey
TOKYO - The iPhone 14 launched by Apple Inc. in September was cheaper in Japan than 36 other major countries and regions in the world, a survey showed Wednesday.
Tokyo-based research firm MM Research Institute Ltd. surveyed Apple's online stores around the world and compared prices, including tax, in yen terms based on exchange rates as of Sept. 12.
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Japan court halts decertification of Japanese school over student abuse
TOKYO - A court has granted a temporary injunction on an immigration agency decision to strip a Japanese language school of its certification over an incident in which a former staff member physically restrained a Vietnamese student last October, the agency said Wednesday.
The injunction was issued by the Fukuoka District Court as of Sept. 30, and the Immigration Services Agency of Japan said it will carefully review the court's decision and respond appropriately.
