The following is the latest list of selected news summaries by Kyodo News.
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City assembly head's son arrested over deadly attack in central Japan
NAGANO, Japan - The son of a city assembly chief in central Japan was arrested Friday on suspicion of killing a policeman in a stabbing and shooting attack that left a total of four people dead, according to local police.
The police identified the suspect as Masanori Aoki, 31, the eldest son of Masamichi Aoki, speaker of the city assembly in Nakano, Nagano Prefecture. He has admitted to the allegations.
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14 Indo-Pacific nations to strengthen supply chain for critical items
DETROIT - Ministers from the United States, Japan and 12 other Indo-Pacific nations will agree at their meeting Saturday in Detroit to bolster supply chains for chips, medicine and other critical items in the event of an emergency under a U.S.-led economic initiative, sources familiar with the matter said Friday.
The enhanced supply chain resiliency will be the first agreement among 14 member countries of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework, representing 40 percent of global gross domestic product, and could help counter China's economic influence in the region.
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Japan's MSDF ship to fly rising sun flag at naval drill in South Korea
TOKYO - A Japanese Maritime Self-Defense Force destroyer will fly the rising sun flag when taking part in a naval drill in South Korea next week, Defense Minister Yasukazu Hamada said Friday, amid improving ties between the two Asian neighbors.
Tokyo's decision regarding the exercise, slated to be held off Jeju Island next Wednesday, indicates that Seoul views the act of hoisting the controversial flag, perceived as a symbol of Japan's wartime militarism, as less problematic. Japan colonized the Korean Peninsula between 1910 and 1945.
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M6.2 quake rocks eastern Japan, no tsunami threat
TOKYO - An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 rocked Tokyo and surrounding areas of eastern Japan on Friday, but there was no threat of a tsunami, the weather agency said.
The quake occurred at 7:03 p.m., registering a lower 5 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 in parts of Ibaraki and Chiba prefectures, according to the Japan Meteorological Agency.
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Over 97% of Japan's new univ. graduates employed amid labor shortage
TOKYO - Over 97 percent of new university graduates in Japan found jobs this spring, up 1.5 points from the previous year for the first rise in three years, reflecting a labor shortage as the economy recovers from the coronavirus pandemic, the government said Friday.
A total of 97.3 percent of graduates who sought jobs were employed as of April 1, the third highest figure on record since 1997, when the government started collecting data, according to the labor and education ministries.
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Cambodia judicial body rejects opposition party's election ban appeal
PHNOM PENH - Cambodia's top judicial body has dismissed an appeal by the main opposition party against an election committee's decision to disqualify it from taking part in a general election in July, in a move that virtually secures the victory of Prime Minister Hun Sen's ruling party.
The Candlelight Party filed the appeal on May 19 against the National Election Committee's decision earlier this month. The election committee said the opposition party failed to submit proper registration documents.
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ChatGPT iOS app made available in Japan Apple store
TOKYO - Artificial intelligence bot ChatGPT, which has garnered international headlines for its ability to hold human-like conversations, has become available for download at Apple Inc.'s Japanese app store.
After its initial release at Apple's U.S. app store on May 18, the AI language model has become available in dozens of countries, including Canada, India and Brazil, as its developer OpenAI seeks to expand user numbers.
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Sydney shines in Southern Hemisphere's largest light festival
SYDNEY - Sydney came to life Friday with a dazzling display of colors and light as the harbor city kicked off its annual Vivid Sydney festival of light, art and culture, the largest event of its kind in the Southern Hemisphere.
Just after sunset, the sails of the Sydney Opera House lit up with the vibrant and colorful works of the late Australian artist John Olsen, renowned for his abstract depictions of Australian landscapes.
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Video: U.S.-S. Korea joint firepower military drill
