The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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LDP policy chief takes aim at China's military pressure on Taiwan
TAIPEI - The policy chief of Japan's ruling Liberal Democratic Party on Sunday voiced opposition to any attempts by China to force a shift in the status quo, referring to the country's rising military pressure on Taiwan.
Koichi Hagiuda, chairman of the LDP Policy Research Council, said at a forum in Taipei that maintaining peace and stability over the Taiwan Strait was vital for building a free and open Indo-Pacific.
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Figure skating: Mihara completes Japanese gold rush at GP Final
TURIN, Italy - Mai Mihara won the women's singles gold at figure skating's Grand Prix Final on Saturday, wrapping up a successful competition for Japan after world champion Shoma Uno claimed the men's crown.
Japanese skaters took three out of the four senior categories contested at the Palavela in Turin, with Riku Miura and Ryuichi Kihara winning the pairs a day earlier.
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Former Japan defense chief Kishi not to run in next election
YAMAGUCHI, Japan - Former Japanese defense chief Nobuo Kishi will not run in the next lower house election, with his eldest son hoping to follow in his father's footsteps, a source familiar with the matter said Sunday.
Kishi's decision was disclosed at a meeting of his supporters in the western Japan city of Iwakuni on the same day, according to the source. The 63-year-old is the younger brother of former Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, who was killed by a lone gunman in July.
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U.S. asks Japan to help curb China's bid to develop high-end chips
TOKYO - The United States has directly asked the Japanese government for cooperation in stymieing China's efforts to develop high-end semiconductors, sources familiar with the matter said Saturday.
The request, noting that the countries are allies sharing strategies against China, was made by U.S. Commerce Secretary Gina Raimondo during her phone conversation with Japanese industry minister Yasutoshi Nishimura on Friday, according to the sources.
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Badminton: Yamaguchi wins World Tour Finals women's singles
BANGKOK - World champion Akane Yamaguchi of Japan defeated Taiwan's Tai Tzu-ying 21-18, 22-20 to claim the women's singles crown at badminton's World Tour Finals on Sunday.
Yamaguchi took 46 minutes to wrap up the championship decider in Bangkok against the silver medalist of last year's Tokyo Olympics, at which the top Japanese hope made a disappointing quarterfinal exit.
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Ryuichi Sakamoto releases "last" concert amid cancer battle
TOKYO - Japanese composer and musician Ryuichi Sakamoto released a stream of an audience-less, pre-recorded concert on Sunday that he has said "may be my last" due to his ongoing battle with cancer.
Sakamoto, known for his film scores as well as his work in the 1970s and 1980s with electronic music band Yellow Magic Orchestra, revealed in June that he is battling stage IV cancer, after previously announcing he had throat cancer in 2014 and rectal cancer in 2021.
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64.5% of Japan firms abroad expect to see profits in 2022: survey
TOKYO - Around 64.5 percent of Japanese companies' overseas affiliates expect to see operating profits in 2022, bringing them almost on par with levels before the coronavirus pandemic, according to a recent survey.
While the result was almost at 2019's 65 percent, signs of long-term recovery were less promising, with just 45.4 percent of respondents saying they will expand their business in the next one to two years, down from a pre-COVID-19 48.9 percent, according to the survey by the Japan External Trade Organization.
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Startup aiming to be 1st Japanese firm to reach Moon launches lander
TOKYO - A startup aiming to be the first Japanese private company to reach the Moon launched a lunar lander Sunday aboard a rocket from a U.S. space station in Florida.
Ispace Inc.'s self-developed lander, part of its Hakuto-R exploration program, is scheduled to land on the Moon around late April next year, if all goes smoothly.
