The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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South Korea's Yoon says preparations for 7th North Korea nuke test complete
SEOUL - South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol said Tuesday that North Korea has completed preparations for its seventh nuclear test, as his country remains on alert for further provocations by Pyongyang.
North Korea "seems to have completed its preparations" for a nuclear test, Yoon said during a speech at the National Assembly, amid growing speculation that North Korea will soon carry out its first nuclear test since September 2017.
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Ex-health minister Goto to replace church-linked Japan economy chief
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday named former health minister Shigeyuki Goto as economic revitalization minister, replacing Daishiro Yamagiwa, who stepped down after facing a wave of criticism over his ties with the Unification Church.
Goto assumed the post Tuesday evening, only three days before the government is set to decide on an additional economic package aimed at cushioning the impact of rising prices and the coronavirus pandemic.
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Japan should improve democracy, ex-PM Noda says in speech for Abe
TOKYO - Japan should make more efforts to improve democracy, former Prime Minister Yoshihiko Noda said Tuesday in a memorial speech delivered in parliament for his immediate successor Shinzo Abe, who was killed by a lone gunman during an election campaign event more than three months ago.
"We should only continue to rely on the power of speech to forge our democracy, imperfect as it may be, into something a little better," Noda, who is now an opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan lawmaker, said in a lower house plenary session.
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Japan's fair trade watchdog launches probe into "1 yen" smartphones
TOKYO - Japan's anti-trust watchdog has launched a rare compulsory inspection on cellphone distributors selling smartphones for as low as 1 yen, sources familiar with the matter said Tuesday.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission aims to find out how such sales practices are possible and determine whether there are cases of dumping or abuse of dominant bargaining position by major mobile carriers against distributors to achieve their targets, the sources said.
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Japan starts COVID vaccination for children aged 6 months to 4 years
TOKYO - Japan on Tuesday began coronavirus vaccinations for children aged six months to four years at a hospital in Tokyo, expanding the eligibility criteria for inoculation to almost all age groups.
Vaccinations for babies and young children in other areas of the country are set to follow as soon as local governments are ready, since deliveries of the vaccine began the previous day.
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Taiwan leader urges united front against authoritarian expansionism
TAIPEI - Taiwan President Tsai Ing-wen warned Tuesday of efforts at expansionism by authoritarian states and urged supporters of democracy to unite to defend their values.
"The challenge posed by authoritarian regimes is an important wake-up call for democrats worldwide," Tsai said at the opening ceremony of a three-day global conference on democracy in Taipei.
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50 die in Myanmar junta airstrike on ethnic rebel group concert
YANGON - An airstrike by Myanmar's military on a music concert recently held by an ethnic rebel group killed at least 50 people, including artists and civilians, local media reported Monday.
The attack, swiftly condemned by the United Nations which called for those responsible to be held accountable, occurred at an area controlled by the Kachin Independence Army in Myanmar's northernmost Kachin State on Sunday night during the event.
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Japan discussing guidelines for Unification Church probe
TOKYO - The Japanese government on Tuesday began discussing guidelines for its probe of the Unification Church, moving a step closer to questioning the controversial religious group with an eye on possibly requesting a court consider depriving it of tax benefits.
The discussions came after Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last week instructed an investigation be launched into the church based on the "right to question" under the Religious Corporations Law in response to pressure from the public to address ties between members of his ruling party and the group, often labeled as a cult.
