The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan mulls creating new defense body for fighting cyberattacks
TOKYO - Japan is considering creating a new organization to lead the country's fight against cyberattacks, with control over units of its defense and police forces coping with such attacks, government sources said Wednesday.
The government seeks to arrange in fiscal 2024 a new security budget covering the envisioned body, which expands on the role of the existing National Center of Incident Readiness and Strategy for Cybersecurity, or NISC, they said.
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U.S. excludes oil for Japan from Russia's Sakhalin-2 from price cap
WASHINGTON - Oil from Russia's Sakhalin 2 energy project bound for Japan will be excluded from facing a price cap the United States will roll out as part of efforts to squeeze Moscow's revenues for its war in Ukraine, the Treasury Department said in its guidance released Tuesday.
The price cap, which other members of the Group of Seven and Australia have also agreed to introduce, will take effect Dec. 5 for crude oil. Japanese trading firms maintain stakes in the Sakhalin 2 project, which the government sees as an important energy supply source for the resource-poor country.
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Mizuho Financial in high gear to appoint female managers
TOKYO - Mizuho Financial Group Inc. recently launched a program to increase the number of women in management positions by connecting female employees with board members, as the major Japanese lender seeks to update its services by diversifying its male-dominated management.
The scheme is aimed at addressing the dearth of women in leadership positions stemming from factors including the lack of role models and opportunities for female employees.
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Nearly 80% of Japanese firms in Europe affected by Ukraine war
TOKYO - Some 77 percent of Japanese companies in Europe see their operations affected by Russia's invasion of Ukraine primarily through a rise in energy and food prices and disruptions in logistics, a survey showed.
Manufacturers feel the heftier impact, with 83.7 percent in the sector saying their business has suffered due to the war in Ukraine, according to the online survey of 1,445 companies conducted between Sept. 1 and 26 by the Japan External Trade Organization with valid responses from 799.
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Japan gives emergency approval to Shionogi's oral COVID-19 drug
TOKYO - Japan's health ministry on Tuesday granted fast-track approval to Shionogi & Co.'s COVID-19 tablet Xocova, making it the country's first domestically produced oral medicine against the coronavirus.
The medicine for COVID-19 patients aged 12 or older with mild symptoms also became the first drug authorized under the new emergency approval scheme established in May.
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Football: "Big fan" Flick says Japan offer serious test for Germany
DOHA - Germany manager Hansi Flick said Tuesday that Japan's squad has all the qualities required to give his team a difficult time when they face off at the soccer World Cup finals in Qatar.
Speaking a day before the teams meet at the Khalifa International Stadium in their first Group E game, Flick called himself a "big fan" of Japanese soccer before going on to compliment the tactical intelligence, skills and execution of the Samurai Blue players, especially those based in Germany.
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Sumo: Hoshoryu gains outright lead in Kyushu after Oho's loss
FUKUOKA - Rising star Hoshoryu grabbed the outright lead Wednesday at the Kyushu Grand Sumo Tournament, racking up another impressive win after fellow front-runner Oho suffered his second loss of the 15-day meet.
The two young guns started Day 11 deadlocked at 9-1, but only 23-year-old Hoshoryu managed to hold serve, dominating fellow sekiwake Mitakeumi to reach 10 wins for the first time as a member of the three "sanyaku" ranks below yokozuna.
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Tokyo holds bicycle event, allows cyclists on iconic Rainbow Bridge
TOKYO - About 2,000 people took part in a bicycle event in Tokyo on Wednesday, with cyclists allowed to cross the iconic Rainbow Bridge for the first time since it opened in 1993.
Participants pedaled in the rain on several different courses of varying distances that also took in other parts of the bayside area, including the Odaiba tourist district.
