The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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Japan split over parliament debate on Constitution revision: poll
TOKYO - The Japanese public is split on the need to speed up parliamentary debate on amending the Constitution, despite Prime Minister Fumio Kishida's pledge to achieve a revision and security threats posed by China, Russia and North Korea, according to a Kyodo News survey.
The survey, compiled Monday, showed 49 percent of respondents said the Diet needs to accelerate discussion on amendments to the supreme law, including the war-renouncing Article 9, while 48 percent said it does not.
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Japan, South Korea to resume finance dialogue amid improving ties
SEOUL - Japan and South Korea agreed Tuesday to resume dialogue between their finance authorities, in the latest sign of improving bilateral relations frayed over wartime history.
The agreement came during a meeting between Japanese Finance Minister Shunichi Suzuki and his counterpart Choo Kyung Ho in Incheon, northwestern South Korea. The two countries held their first formal finance ministerial talks in seven years.
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Figure skating: Retired duo Muramoto, Takahashi to promote ice dance
TOKYO - Japanese figure skating ice dance duo Kana Muramoto and Daisuke Takahashi expressed hope Tuesday that more skaters in their country will take up ice dance and pairs.
A day after announcing their retirement in a social media post, the duo told a press conference in Tokyo that the training environment for the two events has created a gap between Japan and the world's leading nations.
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ASEAN-plus-3 finance chiefs to stay vigilant amid bank woes
SEOUL - Finance chiefs from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations plus Japan, China and South Korea on Tuesday agreed on the need to remain vigilant amid U.S. and European banking woes despite "limited" direct spillovers so far.
After a meeting in South Korea's Incheon, the finance ministers and central bank governors also said tight financial conditions, along with supply chain bottlenecks and higher commodity prices caused by Russia's war on Ukraine, pose downside risks to the economic outlook for the region.
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JAL swings back to profit as travel demand recovers from pandemic
TOKYO - Japan Airlines Co. said Tuesday it posted its first annual net profit in three years for fiscal 2022 as air travel demand is recovering from the coronavirus pandemic.
It posted a net profit of 34.42 billion yen ($250 million) for the year ended March, in a reversal from a net loss of 177.55 billion yen the previous year, the airline said.
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Part of Japan SDF helicopter wreckage recovered from seabed
TOKYO - A major part of the wreckage including the flight recorder of a Japanese Self-Defense Forces helicopter that went missing with 10 people aboard in April was hauled from the seabed Tuesday, a government source said.
A salvage company brought the wreckage up from 106 meters below the surface near Miyako Island in the southern prefecture of Okinawa.
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Japan PM to visit S. Korea for 2 days from May 7 amid thaw in ties
TOKYO - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida is scheduled to visit South Korea for two days from Sunday, the two governments said, with the Asian neighbors accelerating efforts to improve ties in the face of challenges including the nuclear threat posed by North Korea.
On the first day of his arrival, Kishida, who will host the three-day Group of Seven summit from May 19 in Hiroshima, is set to meet with President Yoon Suk Yeol, the governments said Tuesday, less than two months after they held talks in Tokyo in March.
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Japan's PM Kishida vows $500 mil. in financial support to Africa
ACCRA - Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida pledged Monday during a meeting with Ghana's leader to provide around $500 million in financial support to Africa over the next three years to promote peace and stability on the continent.
Kishida and Ghanaian President Nana Addo Dankwa Akufo-Addo also confirmed the importance of providing transparent and fair development finance, apparently drawing a contrast with China's so-called "debt trap" finance where recipient countries are saddled with heavy loans they cannot repay.
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Video: Popular band Begin performs at Hibiya Open Air Concert Hall
