The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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S. Korea to announce fixes to wartime labor rift with Japan on March 6
SEOUL - The South Korean government plans to formally announce measures to settle a wartime labor compensation dispute with Japan on Monday morning, diplomatic sources said Sunday, a move that could pave the way for bilateral relations to emerge from the doldrums.
Seoul has been considering providing compensation payments to former Korean laborers through a government-backed South Korean foundation, instead of requiring Japanese companies to pay damages as ordered by South Korean court rulings.
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China sets modest 2023 GDP goal of some 5% after COVID
BEIJING - China on Sunday set a modest gross domestic product growth target for 2023 at around 5 percent after missing its goal last year due to the economic fallout from its now-ended "zero-COVID" policy.
The target figure, which is slightly down from approximately 5.5 percent in 2022, was unveiled at the opening of an annual session of parliament. Last year, the world's second-biggest economy registered just a 3.0 percent expansion from the 2021 figure.
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Japan, U.S. negotiating return of detained Navy officer: sources
TOKYO - Japan is negotiating with the United States the possibility of transferring a U.S. Navy officer, convicted of a fatal car crash in 2021, to his home country at the request of his family and U.S. lawmakers, diplomatic sources said Sunday.
The government of Prime Minister Fumio Kishida has claimed there were no flaws in the criminal proceedings against U.S. Navy Lt. Ridge Alkonis, 34, but criticism has been growing over his long detention in Japan, with some members of the U.S. Congress also showing their support.
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Prince Hitachi, Emperor Naruhito's uncle, discharged from hospital
TOKYO - Prince Hitachi, an uncle of Emperor Naruhito, was discharged from hospital Sunday as his fever has subsided and his condition stabilized, the Imperial Household Agency said.
The 87-year-old prince will be readmitted to the Japanese Red Cross Medical Center in Tokyo in around two weeks to undergo surgery to crush stones in his ureter, which are believed to be the cause of the fevers he has suffered since late February, according to the agency.
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Athletics: Gelmisa leads Ethiopian trifecta at Tokyo Marathon
TOKYO - Ethiopia's Deso Gelmisa outsprinted compatriot Mohamed Esa down the final stretch to claim a thrilling victory in Sunday's Tokyo Marathon.
The 25-year-old Gelmisa clocked a winning time of 2 hours, 5 minutes, 22 seconds as he crossed the finish line in the capital's Marunouchi district less than a second ahead of Esa.
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Figure skating: Miura wins men's as Japan sweep worlds junior titles
CALGARY, Canada - Seventeen-year-old Kao Miura cruised to his maiden men's junior figure skating world championship Saturday, completing Japan's first sweep of the men's and women's titles since 2010.
Leading after the short program, Miura landed all three of his quad jumps as he also topped the free skate, scoring 179.63 for a 264.74 total in Calgary where 14-year-old Mao Shimada secured the women's gold Friday.
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G-7 should vow "no first use" of nukes at Hiroshima summit: ex-mayor
LONDON - The Group of Seven industrialized nations should declare a nuclear weapon "no first use" policy during a summit in May in Hiroshima, the former mayor of the atomic-bombed Japanese city said in a speech on Saturday in London.
Japan, as host of the summit, can lead efforts to pressure Russian President Vladimir Putin to not use nuclear weapons in his war on Ukraine, but G-7 members should "aim higher," said Tadatoshi Akiba during a ceremony where he received a peace award from a British Islamic group.
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40% of firms want BOJ to scale down monetary easing: survey
TOKYO - Some 40 percent of companies want the Bank of Japan to scale down its ultraloose monetary policy over the next year, a recent survey by research firm Teikoku Databank Ltd. showed.
Of around 1,000 valid respondents, 39.6 percent called for a scaling back of the stimulus program, while 36.4 percent said the central bank should maintain its current policy aimed at keeping interest rates at very low levels to support the economy.
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Controlled grassland burning at Mt. Aso
