The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japanese boxer Inoue becomes undisputed bantamweight champ
TOKYO - Japanese boxer Naoya "the Monster" Inoue became the world's undisputed bantamweight champion with an 11th-round knockout of Britain's Paul Butler on Tuesday night.
The crowning accomplishment at Tokyo's Ariake Arena improved the 29-year-old's record to 24-0 as he added Butler's WBO title to his own WBA, WBC and IBF belts. The 34-year-old Butler fell to 34-3.
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Japan's Rapidus, IBM team up to produce next-generation chips
TOKYO - New Japanese semiconductor producer Rapidus Corp. and IBM Corp. said Tuesday they have signed a strategic partnership deal to jointly develop technologies to manufacture next-generation computer chips amid heated rivalry between the United States and China.
Rapidus, a chip maker backed by the Japanese government, aims to produce 2-nanometer chips at home starting in 2027 in cooperation with the U.S. tech giant, which unveiled breakthrough nanosheet technology last year, paving the way for the 2 nm node.
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PM urges stable, responsible funding for more Japan defense spending
TOKYO - Prime Minister Fumio Kishida on Tuesday stressed the need to secure stable funding sources for an expected increase in Japan's defense spending that would mark a historic policy shift, saying that the responsibility lies with the current generation.
His stepped-up rhetoric comes as his plan to impose higher tax burdens has met opposition from some ruling party lawmakers and Cabinet members.
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China sends conciliatory message to Japan on Nanjing massacre anniv.
SHANGHAI - China sent out a conciliatory message to Japan on Tuesday during a ceremony to mark the 85th anniversary of the 1937 massacre in Nanjing committed by Japanese troops, with a top leadership member calling on the two Asian countries to draw lessons from history.
Cai Qi, who became the first member of the ruling Communist Party's Politburo Standing Committee to attend the annual ceremony in five years, said in a speech the massacre was an "inhumane and shocking crime," but the two Asian neighbors should "be sincere and have trust" toward each other.
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Johnson & Johnson's Japan unit searched over antitrust violation
TOKYO - The Japan unit of U.S. pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson and a Tokyo-based firm selling medical products were searched by the country's antitrust watchdog over potential violations of the antimonopoly law, sources close to the matter said Tuesday.
The Japan Fair Trade Commission suspects Johnson & Johnson K.K. and ASP Japan of obstructing competitors' sales of cleaners and disinfectants for endoscopes.
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New Zealand enacts law to create world's 1st smoke-free generation
SYDNEY - New Zealand on Tuesday legislated the world's first lifetime ban on the sale of cigarettes to young generations, a milestone in the Pacific country's ambitious pursuit to make it "smoke-free" by 2025.
Under the new legislation, people born in 2009 or after will never be able to purchase tobacco legally in their lifetime, as the legal smoking age will rise every year from 18.
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H.K. tycoon Lai's national security trial postponed to September
HONG KONG - The high-profile national security trial against jailed media tycoon Jimmy Lai will be further postponed to late September next year, a Hong Kong court said Tuesday.
The trial for the founder of the now defunct pro-democracy Apple Daily newspaper was initially slated to begin on Dec. 1 but was delayed earlier this month after Hong Kong leader John Lee intervened in the proceedings.
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Japanese anime director Hayao Miyazaki to release new film next summer
TOKYO - Oscar-winning and internationally renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki will release his new animation film "Kimitachi wa Do Ikiru ka," (How do you live?) in July 2023, the movie's distributor Toho Co. said Tuesday.
The film, which will be premiered on July 14, is the first new Miyazaki feature-length film in 10 years. His last release was "Kaze Tachinu" (The Wind Rises) in 2013.
