The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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64% favor recognizing same-sex marriage in Japan: Kyodo poll
TOKYO - Sixty-four percent of respondents to a Kyodo News poll believe same-sex marriage should be recognized in Japan, with the findings on Monday coming amid growing criticism of the government's conservative stance toward LGBT issues.
In the telephone survey, conducted over a three-day period from Saturday, 88.4 percent also said recent remarks hostile to LGBT people by a former executive secretary to Prime Minister Fumio Kishida were inappropriate.
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Ex-PM Abe shooter faces additional charges of making gun, damaging building
NARA, Japan - Police on Monday referred a man, indicted for murdering former Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, to prosecutors for allegedly making a gun and damaging a building by test-firing it, according to investigative sources.
The additional allegations against 42-year-old Tetsuya Yamagami are expected to cap police investigations into the deadly incident last July that shook the entire nation and the events that led up to it while its aftershocks continue reverberating.
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U.S. shoots down another flying object, this time over Lake Huron
WASHINGTON - A U.S. fighter jet on Sunday shot down an unidentified object flying over Lake Huron in Michigan on the orders of President Joe Biden, the Defense Department said, citing a potential hazard to civil aviation.
It was the fourth flying object to be downed by the U.S. military over North American airspace this month. The stepped-up air defense activity began when a suspected Chinese balloon started traversing the continental United States late last month. It was shot down Feb. 4 off the coast of South Carolina.
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Japan foreign minister eyes attending U.N. meetings on Ukraine war
TOKYO - Japanese Foreign Minister Yoshimasa Hayashi is considering visiting New York next week to attend U.N. meetings on Russia's war on Ukraine, which marks its first anniversary on Feb. 24, a source close to the matter said Monday.
During the envisaged four-day trip through Feb. 25, Hayashi plans to attend an emergency special session of the General Assembly from Feb. 22 and a ministerial gathering of the Security Council two days later on the anniversary, according to the source.
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Top Chinese diplomat to attend German security confab, visit Russia
BEIJING - Top Chinese diplomat Wang Yi will attend the Munich Security Conference in Germany and visit Russia as part of his nine-day trip that will also take him to France, Italy and Hungary, the Chinese Foreign Ministry said Monday.
Wang, member of the Political Bureau of the ruling Communist Party's Central Committee and director of the Office of the Central Commission for Foreign Affairs, will embark on the trip on Tuesday and deliver a speech at the security forum, Foreign Ministry spokesman Wang Wenbin said.
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Philippines says China ship aimed "military-grade" laser at its boat
MANILA/BEIJING - The Philippine Coast Guard said Monday a Chinese Coast Guard vessel recently aimed a "military-grade" laser at its ship on a resupply mission in the contested waters of the South China Sea, temporarily blinding some of its crew.
The Philippine Coast Guard also alleged that the Chinese ship "made dangerous maneuvers" in the incident on Feb. 6, sailing about 140 meters from one of their boats near the Manila-controlled Ayungin Shoal in the Spratly Islands chain.
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Toyota to develop advanced EV in 2026, says next president
TOKYO - Toyota Motor Corp.'s incoming president, Koji Sato, said Monday the company will develop next-generation electric vehicles in 2026 in an apparent effort to catch up with its overseas rivals, which had bet on the potential of all-electric cars earlier on.
The new EV will be based on its high-end Lexus brand first, with a plan to launch all-electric versions of other vehicles later, Sato said in an online press conference.
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Nissan, Renault to invest $600 mil. to make 6 new models in India
TOKYO - Nissan Motor Co. and Renault SA said Monday that they will expand their operations in India with an investment of $600 million to develop six new models and boost local production.
Nissan and Renault, alliance partners for more than two decades, will jointly develop two electric and four sport-utility vehicle models for India, as well as for export, based on common platforms, expecting to create up to 2,000 new jobs at their joint research and development center.
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Video: Fire festival in central Japan
