The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan, South Korea move to solve wartime labor dispute, other concerns
TOKYO/SEOUL - Japan and South Korea announced steps Monday to resolve a wartime labor row that has been a major sticking point in bilateral ties, with Seoul offering to compensate former Korean laborers without requiring direct payments from Japanese companies.
The move could pave the way for bilateral relations, which had deteriorated over the issue, to significantly improve at a time when strengthening cooperation between the two neighboring countries is considered vital in facing North Korean nuclear and missile threats, as well as an increasingly assertive China.
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Japan opposition party submits bill for same-sex marriage
TOKYO - Japan's leading opposition party submitted to parliament on Monday a bill to legally recognize same-sex marriage in an effort to spur debate on the issue.
The Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan's bill proposes amending wording in the country's Civil Code that has been written on the premise that marriage is a union between partners of different sexes.
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Japan, South Korea to work to normalize chip-making material trade
TOKYO - Japan will hold talks with Seoul on lifting its controls on exports to South Korea of materials for semiconductor manufacturing, the government said Monday, as momentum built toward mending bilateral ties.
A Japanese trade ministry official said it is the right time to resume talks on the export curbs imposed in 2019, while the South Korean government notified Japan the same day it will suspend a dispute process at the World Trade Organization over the controls.
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South Korea plans Yoon's Japan visit to meet Kishida in mid-March
TOKYO - The Japanese and South Korean governments are planning President Yoon Suk Yeol's visit to Japan on March 16 and 17 to meet with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida, a diplomatic source said Monday.
The planned visit comes as momentum builds toward mending bilateral relations, with South Korea announcing the same day its plan for settling a wartime labor compensation dispute with Japan.
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South Korea announces solution to wartime labor row with Japan
SEOUL - South Korea announced its solution to a wartime labor compensation dispute with Japan on Monday as momentum builds on both sides toward mending bilateral ties that have soured over the long-standing issue.
The solution centers on a government-backed South Korean foundation paying compensation to Korean plaintiffs instead of requiring two Japanese firms to do so as South Korean court rulings had ordered.
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Body found in capsized fishing boat off disputed Japan islands
NAHA, Japan - A body was found inside a fishing boat Monday after the vessel with seven aboard capsized the previous day in waters off the disputed Senkaku Islands in the East China Sea, the Japan Coast Guard said.
The body is likely to be of one of the seven missing crew, who are believed to consist of one Taiwanese and six Indonesians. The coast guard is continuing the search for the crew with patrol vessels and aircraft after receiving a report of the incident from the Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force at around 1:30 p.m. Sunday.
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Mitsubishi Heavy, Nippon Steel say they respect gov't wartime labor view
TOKYO - Machine manufacturer Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Ltd. and steelmaker Nippon Steel Corp. said Monday they respect the Japanese government's view that a wartime compensation dispute with South Korea has already been resolved in a 1965 agreement after Seoul announced a plan to settle the issue.
South Korea said a government-backed foundation will pay compensation to Korean plaintiffs who sued the two companies alleging forced labor during World War II, instead of requiring the two Japanese firms to do so as ordered by South Korean court rulings.
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Boxing: Naoya Inoue to fight Stephen Fulton in May for 2 super bantam belts
TOKYO - Japanese boxer Naoya Inoue is set to challenge Stephen Fulton of the United States for the WBC and WBO super bantamweight titles on May 7 at Yokohama Arena, his Ohashi Gym said Monday.
Inoue, nicknamed "Monster" for his domination in the ring, has moved up a division after completing a sweep of the WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF bantamweight championships with an 11th-round knockout of Britain's Paul Butler last December.
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